


Light of the World

by MonkeyKnight



Category: Destiny (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Kirishima Eijirou Has One For All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Shinsou Hitoshi Replaces Mineta Minoru, The void is v mysterious, U.A. is a university, izuku wields void light, this idea was cultivated in epsi's discord
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2020-02-26 15:37:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18719992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyKnight/pseuds/MonkeyKnight
Summary: Nuclear Fission: A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy.Or, in simpler terms:From the smallest of atoms bloom the biggest explosions.





	1. Eyes Up

_You’ve come here for a story, haven’t you? Perhaps you were bored, or maybe you wondered how this type of story would go, what darkness lay in the corners. It’s only a story. No harm done._

 

_Fool!_

 

_It’s never just a story. How many different versions of Midoriya Izuku have you read about? How many different powers has he wielded?_

 

_How do you know the true Midoriya Izuku isn’t simply accumulating all these powers you've willingly give him, tributed to him through your actions?_

 

_It’s how the H̸̢̖̝̥̦̥ͮͥͯ̑̂͛͂̇iͮ̓̚҉̞͓̖͔̥͙v͉͖̬̣̰̲̱̟̇ͅe̷̡͗̑̇͑ͦ҉͔͍  raise their kings._

 

_But you’re not here for the H͏̶͘͜i̵͜҉̷͢v̕͟e̶͏̛͟. You are here for a story. You will have your story. A story of how Midoriya Izuku became the Light of the World._

 

— LotW —

 

At the age of four, Midoriya Izuku learned that no one was created equal ~~when his dreams were crushed~~.

 

At the age of six, Midoriya Izuku learned that the world was unkind ~~when his best friend abandoned him~~.

 

At the age of twelve, Midoriya Izuku learned that those considered different were treated cruelly ~~when his bullies smashed his face into the wall of their middle school~~.

 

At the age of thirteen, Midoriya Izuku learned that it was easier to block it out ~~when his teachers laughed in his face regarding his accusations against the bullies~~.

 

At the age of fifteen, Midoriya Izuku learned that fate is inescapable ~~when his tormentors followed him to high school~~.

 

And at the age of sixteen, Midoriya Izuku learned the power of Light.

 

— LotW —

 

Midoriya didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t know why he had run towards the sludge villain. He didn’t know why he thought he could do anything. All he knew…

 

“I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die!”

 

...was that Bakugou needed help.

 

“Pesky brat,” growled the villain. “If you’ve got such a big death wish, all you had to do was ask!”

 

Before Midoriya could react, slimy tentacles had wrapped around his limbs, thoroughly ensnaring the green-haired teen. With a squelch, the villain pulled Midoriya in, completely engulfing him.

 

Bakugou screamed in outrage and fought harder.

 

— LotW —

 

He couldn’t breathe.

 

The sludge was disgustingly warm, invading every pore in his skin. Midoriya did his best to not inhale, though his body was screaming for air and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to resist the instinct much longer.

 

_‘Mom… I’m sorry… I tried to be a hero… but I failed.’_

 

Izuku passed into unconsciousness.

 

— LotW —

 

_A voice spoke to him with indifference, as a teacher lectures a class._

 

_“The gods came out of the Void that surrounds all things. Thus, we know that the Void is full of power, and enter the Void without fear. Small minds, weak minds will call your abilities blasphemous. They will compare you to the abominable villains that inhabit your world.”_

 

_He had no powers. He had no abilities. He had no quirk._

 

_“But that will not hold you back. With this gift that I send to you, armed with the secret physics of an age never to come, you will tear reality asunder. You will fear nothing, and nothing will not fear you.”_

 

_He received the gift. Felt the burning cold. Heard the screaming silence. Tasted the corroding metal._

 

_“Walk the Void, experience it as no one else will be able to. When you blink, Midoriya Izuku, you’ll know the way to the Void Light.”_

 

_Izuku blinked._

 

_And the world erupted into violet flame._

 

— LotW —

 

Bakugou liked to think he knew explosions. Ever since he had gained his quirk, the blonde practiced his ability, expanding and empowering it. He could create sparks less dangerous than hand-held fireworks, or blast a hole through a brick wall, and even apply the shockwave with almost no heat.

 

Right now, he was panicked. The sludge villain was forcing explosions out of his palms, keeping the heroes at bay, and stupid, useless, Deku-

 

No.

 

Izuku. Izuku, kind, brave, compassionate, forgiving Izuku sacrificed himself to try and save his shitty friend. The sheer anger Bakugou felt renewed his strength, prompting more powerful explosions that he was able to direct at the villain.

 

Bakugou thought he knew explosions.

 

Then the world turned purple.

 

The explosive teen was thrown free of the villain’s grasp, and he landed hard on his back, coughing violently to expel the last of the sludge. He looked up.

 

Izuku floated above what remained of the villain, chaotic energies swirling around his body. His eyes were shining with power, and the longer Bakugou observed Izuku, the more it seemed Izuku wasn’t actually there.

 

The sludge villain began to reform, cursing and swearing at Izuku, promising his death. Izuku looked down impassively and brought his hands close together. The energies began to gather in a sphere, curling around each other and becoming more and more solid. Right as the sludge villain was about to attack, Izuku released the energies.

 

A massive concussive blast fueled by violet energy tore through the sludge villain, partially disintegrating him. The blast washed over Bakugou but did no harm.

 

Suddenly, Izuku was floating in front of him, hand held out. Bakugou flashed back to when they were kids, to when the doctor had said Izuku had no quirk.

 

He had fallen then, and Izuku just wanted to help him up.

 

Izuku just wanted to be a hero.

 

Bakugou took Izuku’s hand and the world _flickered_ -

 

They were next to the heroes. Izuku turned back to the sludge villain and floated high into the air. Gathering the last of the energies in his palm, Izuku flung the volatile payload at the villain.

 

The world turned purple.

 

— LotW —

 

“Oi, Deku.”

 

Izuku turned. Bakugou stood behind him, his usual scowl on his face.

 

“Y-yes, Kaachan?” he stammered.

 

“What the fuck was that back there?”

 

“I-I don’t kn-”

 

“Bullshit you don-”

 

“I don’t!” Izuku’s scream stopped Bakugou in his tracks. Midoriya never raised his voice to anyone.

 

“I-I don’t know what happened. I-I just s-saw you trapped by the v-villain and had to t-t-t-try and save you. B-b-b-but when the villain grabbed me and pulled me in I wassoscaredIthoughtIwasgoingtodieIalmostdiddieohgodnononopleaseno-”

 

“Izuku!” Bakugou shouted. The green haired teen was clutching his head, muttering full speed and looking like he was having a panic attack. Unsure of what else to do, Bakugou grabbed him by the shoulders. “You’re not dying, stupid! You rushed in while all those shitty heroes stood by and did nothing. Did you come close to dying? Fuck yeah, you did! But you didn’t. You turned purple and blew tentacle hentai bastard the hell up, got my sorry ass to safety, and finished the dickwad so the heroes could arrest him!”

 

The surrounding area was silent. No one else was around to see Izuku’s breakdown, nor Bakugou comforting the boy who had once been his closest friend. As the silence continued, Bakugou realized Izuku had stopped muttering. He hadn’t let go of his head, but Bakugou assumed he was listening.

 

“You saved me, Deku. Your quirk activated eleven goddamn years late, and the first thing you did with it was save me. Far as I’m concerned, that puts you a step above all those other shitty heroes.”

 

“...p-please be polite, Kaachan,” murmured Izuku. “They did try to help.”

 

Bakugou scoffed, and let go of Izuku. The two of them stood there for a while, enjoying the quiet.

 

“So… your quirk lets you explode things, huh?”

 

“I-it seems like it,” came the response. “B-but it feels like there’s more I can do with it...like explosions are just the end result of my quirk…”

 

“Hmph. Whatever, nerd. Just don’t forget I’m better at explosions than you’ll ever fucking be!”

 

“O-of course, Kaachan.”

 

— LotW —

 

Today, it seemed, was full of surprises.

 

“My boy, why did you lie to me?”

 

Such as the Symbol of Peace appearing in front of you after your childhood friend has left with a disappointed expression on his deflated face.

 

“I-I didn’t,” came the stammered reply. “I-I’ve never been able to use my quirk before, a-and the doctor said I have the extra toe joint. I-I really did think I was quirkless, All Might.”

 

Toshinori raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never used your quirk before, yet you rushed in to save your friend?”

 

“Y-yes, All Might. I-I’m sorry, I s-should’ve let the heroes-”

 

“What were you thinking?” interrupted Toshinori. A bemused expression crosses Izuku’s face, so the Pro elaborated. “When you ran towards your friend to save him, what were you thinking? What went through your brain?”

 

“I...I wasn’t. My body-”

 

“‘My body just moved on its own.’ That’s what you were going to say, right? Many great heroes said the same thing when asked about how they started,” Toshinori explained.

 

A look of realization streaked across Izuku’s face, and he clapped his hands over his mouth to muffle the sobs that accompanied the tears that began to form.

 

“Midoriya Izuku...you can be a hero.”

 

Izuku broke down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as a debate about what type of Guardian Izuku would be. Come check out Epsi's Discord: https://discord.gg/wG6Pm3
> 
> You won't regret it ;)
> 
> Credit to Raven's Shadow for proofreading
> 
> If you can guess who's speaking in the italicized parts you'll get a virtual cookie (::)
> 
> Edited to properly match the Japanese school system


	2. Harder Better Faster Darker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I...I've never received this big a response in such a short time with only one chapter posted on a story. I can only assume that means you want more, but first, answering comments!
> 
> Whitetiger789: Thank you!
> 
> Atomic_Dragon59: Sorry, but Izuku's only getting Void abilities. Him having all the Light abilities would be way too OP.
> 
> Komodo23: I'm glad you liked it! I'm definitely going to continue this story.
> 
> BlueOcean12: Thanks for the kudos and subscription! I'm taking cues regarding Bakugou from a lot of other redemption fics for him, but I'll do my best!
> 
> KannasMirror: Nezerac's Sin makes playing voidlock all the more fun!
> 
> Narancia: You must be on Epsi's Discord!
> 
> ImSoBored246: Before this story, there were four stories with the rarepair that weren't harem fics.
> 
> Necron_Lord: :)
> 
> Now, on to the story!

_Thanks to the Traveller, those ~~cursed~~_ _blessed with Light need no sleep. Some still partook in rest, if only for the mental relaxation, but Warlocks such as myself would use it as a form of meditation, to grow closer to the Light they wielded. I wonder, Midoriya Izuku when you will realize your dreams are your lessons?_

 

— LotW —

 

Izuku grunted as he hit the ground for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

 

“Come, young Midoriya, you can do better than that!”

 

It had been a week since his quirk had shown itself. All Might had offered to train him, and Izuku had readily accepted. The training consisted of two parts: physical training for situations where he wouldn’t be able to use his quirk, and quirk training, to fine-tune his control over it.

 

Unfortunately, physical training came first. The training consisted of using workout equipment to bulk up and increase his endurance at UA’s very own Gamma Gym. The green-haired teen was ecstatic when he learned where he would be doing this part of the training.

 

That’s when he discovered there was a second part to the physical training: sparring with All Might.

 

“You’re impossible to beat, All Might-sensei! I’m trying, but it seems like there’s nothing I can do…”

 

“Currently, this is true,” agreed All Might. “But we’ve only been at it for a week! Don’t tell me you’re giving up now?”

 

“No! Never! I will be a hero!” Izuku exclaimed.

 

“Good! Now, come at me again.”

 

— LotW —

 

Midoriya Inko was a worrier, especially when it came to her son. Though he had been labeled quirkless, Inko loved him with all her heart. If it were possible, Inko would give him the sun and the moon and the stars in the sky, just to make him happy.

 

Just to remove that dull blankness in his eyes.

 

She regretted apologizing instead of assuring him he could’ve been a hero, but her own selfish desire to keep Izuku safe prevented her from encouraging his dream. Inko would live with the regret as long as it meant her son wouldn’t be facing down monsters without a quirk to defend himself.

 

And then, the sludge villain appeared on the news, with Izuku’s old childhood friend in his slimy hold. Inko had immediately called Mitsuki, knowing her friend would need her support until Mitsuki’s son was rescued. Time passed, and none of the heroes had made a move against the sludge villain, while Mitsuki grew more and more hysterical.

 

And then Izuku rushed the sludge villain.

 

Inko honestly wasn’t sure how long Mitsuki had been trying to get her attention. All she knew was that her son, her most precious thing in the world, had just been murdered.

 

The news camera showed the world turning purple.

 

And Inko could no longer live with her regret.

 

— LotW —

 

Convincing his mom to help him follow the diet plan All Might had given him was pretty easy when she had sworn to do everything possible to make up for crushing his dream. All Might himself showing up to take him to Gamma Gym one morning only sealed the deal.

 

“I’ll have a meal waiting for you when you get home, Izuku.”

 

“Thanks, mom. See you this afternoon!”

 

With that, Izuku started what was quickly becoming routine for him: a balance of training, rest and school. At first, the physical training had taken a toll on him, leading to situations in school where Izuku would be staring off into space, muttering wildly.

 

Speaking of school, ever since the news had broadcasted Izuku using his quirk for the first time, everyone at school had treated him differently: praising him for such a strong quirk, admiring his bravery in rescuing Bakugou, and so on and so forth. No one bullied him anymore, and Kaachan was...well Kaachan was tolerant of him. The blonde allowed Izuku to talk to him, but that was about it.

 

Still, Izuku trained. His ultimate goal was to be the Number One hero, one that people would admire and find hope in whenever a dark situation arose.

 

Izuku was understandably exhilarated when he first trained his quirk.

 

— LotW —

 

“Use your quirk on this dummy, my boy!”

 

Toshinori had once again brought Izuku to Gamma Gym, but this time training dummies stood against the wall, instead of the usual workout equipment. Eyes sparkling with excitement, Izuku waited for Toshinori to stand back, then reached for his quirk.

 

Every night since the sludge villain, Izuku had practiced with his quirk (gods he never got tired of thinking that.) The first night he couldn’t even manage a wisp of energy, but after a dream that he couldn’t remember, Izuku could summon and hold a small ball of violet energy in his hand. It would dissipate after a few seconds, and Izuku didn’t want to release it in his room, so the verdanette had no clue what it did. But now…

 

Izuku formed the ~~void~~  energy ball in his left hand, let it charge, and then released it. The ball fractured into smaller balls of energy and raced forwards, disintegrating two dummies into nothingness and visibly damaging three others. Toshinori looked proud.

 

“Wonderful, Izuku. Now, experiment with what you did, and see if you can make any variations,” the emancipated Pro requested.

 

Izuku nodded and attempted to form another ball of energy. However, no matter how hard he reached, nothing happened. Frowning, Izuku decided to try his other hand. Nothing formed in his right hand, but he could _feel_ the energy wanting to escape. Having decided his course of action, Izuku walked up to a dummy and thrust his right hand at it, palm first. A wave of violet energy slammed into the dummy, knocking it back, before the energy infused in the dummy condensed into an explosion, destroying the initial dummy and knocking over two others.

 

“Very interesting, young Midoriya. However, this is not what I asked you to do.”

 

“I know, Toshinori-sensei,” interjected Izuku. “But I think there’s something like a cooldown on how often I can channel my quirk through my hands. When I reached for my quirk with my left hand, I felt nothing, but when I tried my right hand…”

 

“I see!” Toshinori exclaimed. “Of course, this is only natural now that I think about it. You’ve not had your quirk long, while most everyone else has had their quirk since they were very little. Worry not! Keep at it, and you shall overcome this cooldown.”

 

— LotW —

 

For the next two years, Izuku would train his body and his quirk. The verdanette wouldn’t buff out but instead would grow tall, lean and wiry from his physical exertions. As for his quirk, Izuku managed to reduce the amount of time in between uses and even learned how to pull some of his opponents’ energy to empower himself, or to consume the ball of ~~void~~  violet energy to heal his wounds and give himself a stamina boost. Regarding the two bigger versions of his quirk…

 

_Flashback_

 

_“Why are we here, Toshinori-sensei?” questioned Izuku. The Number One Hero had requested the teen meet him at Dagobah beach, which was infamous in Musutafu for its status as a dumping ground._

 

_“We are here to train your quirk,” came the response. Toshinori turned to look at his pupil. “Speaking of, have you registered it with the QRA?”_

 

_“Yes, sir.”_

 

_“What did you call it?” Toshinori asked curiously. Izuku let a small frown cross his face. Ever since he had unlocked his quirk, he couldn’t remember his dreams, yet each morning he woke up and knew a little bit more about his quirk. One morning he knew what he was manipulating._

 

_“Void Light.”_

 

_“Void Light?”_

 

_“Yes, sir. It feels...empty, the opposite of everything, and yet when I use it I feel as though I’m chasing away the darkness.”_

 

_“Hmm…” Toshinori grumbled to himself in thought. Izuku himself was a little nervous. After all, it was the first time he had ever lied to All Might. “Well, it seems a fitting name. Anyways, allow me to elaborate on why we are here. You see all this trash?”_

 

_“Yes…”_

 

_“You’re going to blast it all away.” _

 

_Izuku grinned wildly._

 

_Flashback End_

 

In the end, Izuku had named the two massive blasts Nova Bomb and Nova Warp ~~thanks to forgotten dreams~~ , as they reminded him of a video he had once seen about a star going supernova.

 

And that was that. The last two years of school and training remained uneventful for Izuku, a monotonous cycle that for the verdanette was never boring.

 

Oh. Well. Two things happened.

 

Izuku made a new friend and met the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

 

— LotW —

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm...not usually one for cliffhangers, but we'll leave it here for now. While you're waiting for my next chapter, go check out Epsillon's "Total Command", or Titus's "What's In A Hoard?"!
> 
> Void abilities used are as follows: Devour, Handheld Supernova, Entropic Pull, Atomic Breach, Nova Bomb, and Nova Warp
> 
> No guesses regarding our italicized speaker...is he too mysterious for you?
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> Credit to Raven (again) for proofreading and pointing out a spelling mistake that spellcheck didn't see.
> 
> Edited to remove the Bakugou plot hole I was building myself.


	3. A Rock And A Hard Hoof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this would've been out sooner except I got so sick that when I tried to go into work I fainted :( Fun times. Anyways, responding to comments and then the new chapter! Also, congratulations to Fayte for correctly guessing our mysterious speaker: Toland the Shattered! Here's your virtual cookie (::)
> 
> KannasMirror: Nope, not his Ghost. Izuku doesn't have one.
> 
> Whitetiger789: Thank you!
> 
> OneHighZergling: I'll do my best!
> 
> Fayte: Yup! He's a little ball of energy now.
> 
> Necron_Lord: Beat Shigaraki and he'll drop Alkane Dust :D
> 
> Syber_Slash: I'd like to think that Void Light and SIVA are two different things. But I've read your story, and it's really good! Keep those chapters coming!
> 
> BlueOcean12: The shipping will start soon! I've never really written a relationship before, but I'll do my best! And don't worry, Mei will be in here somewhere.
> 
> Void_Knight98: :3c
> 
> ImSoBored246: I'm glad you think so! Please, enjoy chapter three!

 

_Do you ever pause, Midoriya Izuku, to consider who would benefit from all the heroism you wish to commit? Who gains? Certainly the people you protected but that is only a short term benefit. Who benefits in the long run?_

 

_And what will you do, when the world is on fire? Why not carve your name into the fabric of reality? You could do that, if only you had the imagination. Relish your gift, Midoriya Izuku, for it is through a dragon’s wish you have it._

 

— LotW —

 

Having All Might as a mentor did wonders for your confidence. Izuku had slowly lost his stutter, and he no longer did his best to blend into the background. His new friend helped as well.

 

One day, Izuku had arrived at Dagobah beach for quirk training, only to see All Might standing with another boy. All Might had introduced the boy as Kirishima Eijirou, the successor of One For All.

 

The shark-toothed teen was likable enough, and after declaring Izuku’s Nova Bomb “manly”, the two became fast friends. Kirishima trained often with Izuku, strengthening himself to prepare his body for One For All. Thanks to his natural quirk, Hardening, he’d be able to take the backlash, but growing stronger would give him control.

 

“Yo, Midoriya!” called Kirishima. “You ready for some more training?”

 

“You bet!” Izuku replied. Their training often devolved into a competition to see who could get rid of more trash before tiring out. At first, Izuku’s destructive Bomb and Warp were enough to grant the verdanette victory, but as Kirishima’s strength grew, the OFA successor came closer and closer to beating Izuku.

 

The two boys stood back-to-back. Kirishima stretched out his arms and legs while Izuku began to draw on the Void energy stored inside.

 

“Ready?”

 

“Ready.”

 

“Go!”

 

They took off. Kirishima’s arms became rugged and sharp, while Izuku slipped between the fabric of space and exposed himself to the Void. The heroes-to-be tore through the trash and waste, destroying every last bit of it. After a few minutes, Izuku felt the Void Light fueling his Nova Warp start to peter out, and so gathered the last of it into his palm for one last blast. He had been practicing, learning how to shape his Nova Bomb into different variations because the dreams he couldn’t remember continued to teach him.

 

“Nova Bomb: Shatter!”

 

With a yell, three balls of volatile Void Light were flung from Izuku’s hand, silently screaming through the sky. They impacted on the heaps of trash, disintegrating them down to the last atom, and just like that Izuku’s side of the beach was mostly clear. Behind him, Izuku could hear Kirishima yelling and the occasional sundering of metal. Sighing as reality regained its hold on him, Izuku went on to collect the aftermath of his quirk.

 

As it so happened, Void-fuelled explosions interacted with sand in a peculiar way. The massive blasts would superheat the sand, leaving behind purple-tinted glass. The peculiar part was that the glass was cold to the touch, despite recently being in ground zero of destruction, and never grew warm. Izuku theorized the glass was imbued with Void Light and wondered if he could do something with it. All Might was willing to show the strange material to Power Loader, but Izuku had to collect more than what he had first. The glass only formed in the immediate dead-center of Void based explosions, huge ones at that. The Shatter variation of his Nova Bomb was the fastest way he could gather it. Hopefully, Power Loader could work with a few ounces of the stuff…

 

— LotW —

 

“Kid, there ain’t anything I can do to affect this material. Where’d you say you found it?”

 

Power Loader had been trying for the better part of three hours to make the voidglass react in some way shape or form to no avail. The small shards wouldn’t melt, wouldn’t break, wouldn’t do anything except sit there. At this point, Power Loader doubted All Might could break it.

 

“Ground zero of explosions caused by my quirk when it detonated on the sand,” replied Izuku.

 

“Right. Well whatever this voidglass stuff is, it ain’t affected by any conventional lab equipment. Might even be able to withstand nuclear power.”

 

Izuku’s eyes widened. To hear that his quirk had created such a powerful material was amazing, but the voidglass was useless if it couldn’t be shaped.

 

_‘Wait..._ **_void_ ** _glass…”_

 

“Power Loader-sensei! What if you used void flames to shape the voidglass?” asked Izuku.

 

Power Loader looked at Izuku curiously, then slowly nodded. “Hmm...well, your quirk did create this stuff. Might be able to manipulate it, too. Alright kid, go ahead and light the forge with your void flame. May as well give it a shot.”

 

Izuku tugged on the Void Light within, letting it coalesce into his palm and ignite in a brilliant violet flame. Without hesitation, the verdanette stuck his hand into the forge’s coals and the violet flame spread quickly. Silently roaring, vibrant purple tounges of flame licked at the bowl holding the voidglass.

 

“Does that work, Power Loader-sensei?”

 

“That’ll do fine, kid. Head on back outside, and I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

 

— LotW —

 

While waiting for Power Loader, Izuku sent his mom a text to let her know he’d be home a little later than usual. Inko responded and informed her son she’d have dinner waiting for him when he did get home.

 

A peculiar sound echoed through the hall, causing Izuku to look up from his phone. It sounded like...a horse’s hooves?

 

“I thanking you again, President Nezu!”

 

“It’s no problem, Ms. Tsunotori. You’ll still have to take the entrance exam if you want to make the hero course, but finding you a suitable tutor to help you better learn Japanese won’t be a problem. Ah, Midoriya! Waiting on Power Loader?”

 

Standing in front of Izuku was the president of U.A., Nezu. The small, white-furred mammal was one of the only animals with a quirk in the world. His quirk, High Spec, gave him an intelligence level far beyond an average human. Izuku had first met Nezu when All Might had Izuku use his quirk on the test dummies. Nezu had been fascinated by Izuku’s quirk, as there were almost no quirks that were connected to the void.

 

“Yes, President Nezu. I think we found a way to manipulate the voidglass,” replied Izuku.

 

“Excellent! Ah, where are my manners? Midoriya, I’d like you to meet Tsunotori Pony, a transfer student from America.” Nezu gestured to his left, Izuku’s eyes following the president’s paw.

 

Now as stated above, Izuku’s confidence has grown immensely. Someone as outgoing as Kirishima taking the role of Izuku’s best friend didn’t exactly allow for timidity.  That being said, the fact remains that Izuku’s mother was still the only female he regularly talked to.

 

_‘She’s...she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen...her eyes and her hair are so pretty...w-wait, what am I doing?!’_

 

Oblivious to Izuku’s inner turmoil, Pony smiled and bowed in greeting. “Pleased to meeting you...ah...Mi-do-ri-ya? I say that right?”

 

Snapping out of his thoughts, Izuku bowed back with a red face. “Y-yes, pleased to meet you, Tsunotori. Y-you said my name right, d-don’t worry.”

 

“Ah, is good!” cheered Pony. “I still new to speak Japanese. Is still...di-ffi-cult? Yes, is still difficult.”

 

Nezu’s eyes gleamed, unnoticed by either teen. Sensing an opportunity, the white-furred mammal took initiative. “Midoriya, as you can tell, Ms. Tsunotori is still working on her Japanese. I’ve agreed to provide her a tutor to help her become more fluent. Now, I was going to have one of our faculty members teach Ms. Tsunotori, but perhaps you could teach her instead?”

 

“M-me?!” stammered Izuku. His blush grew deeper. “I-I mean I could, b-but wouldn’t a professor be a better teacher?”

 

“Certainly a professor would be more qualified, but I feel it would be better for Ms. Tsunotori to be around people her age,” Nezu responded. He looked at Pony. “What do you think, Ms. Tsunotori? Would you be okay with Izuku tutoring you?”

 

“Yes! Pony okay with...ah, sorry. **I**  okay with Mi-do-ri-ya teach me the Japanese!”

 

And so, Izuku’s fate was sealed. The two young adults exchanged phone numbers and set up a schedule that would allow Izuku to teach Pony better Japanese while still training and keeping up with his schoolwork. Needless to say, Izuku was exhausted. Already his training would prevent him from doing his schoolwork and the verdanette would scramble to get up early to do it before his classes started, leaving him even more tired when it came time for training. Adding in Pony’s Japanese lessons only stretched the boy further.

 

Izuku wouldn’t trade it for the world. Pony was quick to declare the two of them friends (“First Japanese friend!”), and he did enjoy spending time with her, even if his face burst into flames when she so much as smiled at him.

 

She smiled at him a lot.

 

— LotW —

 

It was his eighteenth birthday. For the first time in fourteen years, it was more than just him and his mother celebrating. Kirishima and Tsunotori showed up bearing presents, and he even got a text from All Might wishing him a happy birthday and stating he’d have Izuku’s present at U.A. tomorrow. It was undoubtedly his best birthday in memory, and Izuku went to bed smiling.

 

— LotW —

 

_You have done well with our gift to you. We know that you will do even greater things, and so we extend our gift._

 

_A bow to hunt._

 

_A shield to protect._

 

_And knives to stalk._  

 

_Bathe the world in your gift, o Lightbearer mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> My biggest worry is that I didn't do good with Pony. Please, let me know how I did with her broken Japanese!
> 
> Next chapter probably isn't going to be until sometime in June, mostly cause of family vacations and getting ready to move into university.
> 
> Go check out Syber_Slash's fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18838087
> 
> See you next chapter!


	4. Exam Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so I'm way early. To be quite honest I surprised myself. But, it's currently 1:05 am and I get up for work at 7:00 am so let's be quick about this. Reviews!
> 
> Whitetiger789: Thank you!
> 
> Necron_Lord: Monkey's Paws are nasty pieces of work.
> 
> Atomic_dragon59: No ahamkara remains here!
> 
> BlueOcean12: Glad to hear! I'll do my best!
> 
> Bravenwolf1: Riven's a bit busy with the Dreaming City.
> 
> resd: I'm glad you think so! If you're hyped to read it imagine how I feel about writing it!
> 
> Syber_Slash: To quote Lord Saladin: "You seem pleased."
> 
> JohnC.G: I love lore as well. As for your question, there are two tags indicating that this is a fic where characters are older, and chapter one briefly goes over Izuku's life through high school. It makes more sense to me to have quirk training in college than in high school. Please, read the tags.

_ Your intent is a powerful force. A Titan will slam down with his Fists of Havoc to clear out the Thrall piling on his fireteam and not disturb a speck of dust on them, yet turn around in the Crucible and annihilate those same Guardians. In a similar vein, your intent will determine the effect your gift has on the people of your world. The void cannot properly strengthen you without consuming your enemies. How will you overcome this, Midoriya Izuku? _

 

_ How will  _ ~~_ Azirim _ ~~ _ your intent shape your world? _

 

— LotW —

 

Pony was nervous. No, terrified was more accurate. After Izuk- no,  _ Midoriya’s _ (stupid cultural differences) birthday, the rest of the school year had passed in the blink of an eye. The American girl had been invited to Midoriya and Kirishima’s training, and she happily accepted. The two boys had cleared Dagobah beach of all its trash, and so all training was now held in Gamma Gym under All Might’s watchful eye. All three worked on the same thing: control.

 

Kirishima had to learn how to prevent One For All from blowing his limbs off. Hardening helped him endure OFA, but the shark-toothed teen could only handle about 2% of the quirk.

 

Izuku knew exactly how destructive his quirk was. Void Light would disintegrate anything if he wasn’t careful, and so the verdanette put every thought into stunning or incapacitating when he launched a Nova Bomb or initiated a Nova Warp, or used any damaging aspect of his quirk.

 

Pony could only fire off and control four of her horns. Any more than that and she’d suffer from keratin deficiency. To make up for it, the American girl wanted to hone her control over her horns to pinpoint precision.

 

The three young adults practiced these aspects of their quirks first against training dummies, then each other in three-way sparring matches, all three learning from each other.

 

Izuku and Kirishima learned from Pony to keep one eye behind them, as the girl was more than happy to strike from a blind spot with one of her horns.

 

Kirishima and Pony learned from Izuku to deal with exhaustion. The verdanette’s Entropic Pull would draw on their stamina  ~~ instead of their lifeforce ~~ , bolstering Izuku’s own stamina.

 

Pony and Izuku learned from Kirishima to fight overwhelming force. Pony didn't know about OFA, only that Kirishima was massively strong. A simple flick of his finger would be enough to literally blow the two of them away if Pony and Izuku weren’t careful.

 

But now the training was done. Their high school educations were over, and college lay ahead. U.A. lay ahead.

 

The time between the end of high school and the day of the exam passed too quickly in Pony’s opinion. The days had consisted of Iz-  _ Midoriya  _ helping her with her Japanese by walking around the Musutafu shopping center and having her read random signs or labels. Pony enjoyed the time she had spent with her first Japanese friend, and Kirishima (“ _ Second  _ Japanese friend!”) had oh so helpfully pointed out that it was like they were going on dates. 

 

Midoriya had flushed a deeper crimson than Kirishima’s freshly dyed hair and had started vehemently denying the redhead’s observation. His reaction had both Kirishima and Pony laughing their heads off, though the American girl's face was also dusted with red.

 

But back to Pony’s terror. The gates of U.A. loomed before the trio, and the horned girl was having doubts.

 

“I’m not the only one who’s suddenly nervous, right?” Kirishima asked.

 

“I am also the scared.”

 

Midoriya swallowed hard. He wasn't worried about the written portion of the exam. The three of them had studied hard together, constantly quizzing one another on various topics and subjects. Pony even taught Izuku and Kirishima more advanced English than they already knew as a thank you for helping her with Japanese. No, Izuku’s worry was the practical exam.

 

Many rumors had spread about U.A.’s practical exam, and online forums theorized and speculated wildly about what it could contain. Former alumni wouldn’t say anything, nor would any of the staff that the public managed to corner. The only thing they knew for sure was that it would have to do with their quirks. Still…

 

“I’m not going into U.A. without you two,” declared Izuku. Pony and Kirishima turned to the verdanette, eyes wide at the bold statement. “Both of you have been my first real friends in a long time, and I couldn’t imagine attending without you.”

 

“Dude...that’s so manly! Midoribro, I’m not just gonna get in, I’m gonna be the best, you’ll see! We’re gonna go here together!” Kirishima exclaimed, liquid pride in his eyes.

 

“I do my best, too!” Pony chimed in. A competitive spark flared between the three, and Izuku grinned wildly. The nervous aura surrounding the three was gone, and at that moment the trio felt unstoppable.

 

“We’ve got this in the bag you two. Now, let's go pass that exam!” With his two friends properly hyped, Izuku strode forwards, confidence bubbling in his chest...only for it to disappear when his shoe caught a brick, causing the verdanette to trip facefirst onto the cold, unforgiving concrete.

 

“Ah, Midori!”

 

“Midoribro? Speak to me!”

 

Izuku groaned.  _ ‘That’s a bad omen if I’ve ever seen one…’ _

 

— LotW —

 

The written portion of the exam was done, and the examinees were loaded onto buses after an explanation of the practical portion of the exam. On the bus ride, Izuku thought to himself, planning on how best to tackle the exam.

 

_ ‘So...robots worth different points roaming a fake city with no civilians and no penalty for property damage. It sounds like I can go all out but…’ _

 

Why would U.A., or any hero college for that matter, only focus on destruction? It was unfair to those without a physically powerful quirk, and only really let quirks like his own or Kirishima’s shine in the exam. There had to be more to it, but for the life of him Izuku just couldn't figure it out.

 

_ ‘Well, no matter. I’ll just have to do my best on this exam by destroying as many robots as possible. Although...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to help the other examinees if they need it. After all, it’s what a hero would do.’ _

 

— LotW —

 

“START!”

 

Out of all the examinees at his testing site, Izuku was the only one who immediately jolted forwards into the depths of the city. The rest of the student-hopefuls either stood there in shock or stared dumbly at Present Mic.

 

“What are you waiting for?! There are no countdowns in real life! Time’s-a-wastin’, go go gooooooooo!” the Pro shouted.

 

Startled into movement, the massive group piled into the fake city, quite a few points behind Izuku already. As for the verdanette, he was quickly finding out the gap between the durability of the robots’ armor and his Void Light’s strength.

 

That is to say, a massive gap.

 

A single Handheld Supernova obliterated a group of two-pointers and slapping a sole one-pointer with Atomic Breach decimated a large crowd of similar robots. Thanks to a previously unknown passive side effect of using these two specific abilities that Izuku called Dark Matter, the energy spent was replaced almost immediately.

 

_ ‘Thirty-two points already...I think I’m doing good! And since I’m the first one in, it looks like I can use Nova Warp to gain a massive lead. Oh, there’s a bunch of the robots! Better do it now!’ _

 

Tugging on his Void Light, Izuku stepped between realities, exposing himself further to the Void and surrounding himself in its Light. Teleporting directly into the middle of the robot horde, Izuku charged a sphere of energy in his hands...and released.

 

None of the three-pointer and two-pointer robots in his immediate vicinity stood a chance, and the rest turned to him, red eyes burning with what could be called hatred and anger. Izuku simply chucked to himself and continued his rampage.

 

— LotW —

 

“We’ve got a good batch this year.” President of U.A., Nezu, sat in the middle of a massive set-up, with multiple monitors showing live feeds of the testing centers. Behind Nezu, many of the staff made various noises of agreement.

 

Off to the side, Toshinori kept an eye on the monitor showing the rankings. The lower rankings near the bottom leaped and changed as the respective examinees scrambled for points. At the top, however…

 

  * Bakugou Katsuki - 71 Villain Points
  * Midoriya Izuku - 68 Villain Points
  * Kirishima Eijirou - 63 Villain Points
  * Hitoshi Shinsou - 55 Villain Points
  * Tsunotori Pony - 48 Villain Points



 

Though the numbers constantly updated, the order of the top five remained the same, unwavering in its positioning.

 

“Yo, Shouta! Anyone that catches your eye?”

 

“Hmn. We can’t show bias during the judging, Yamada. You know that.” Underground Hero Eraser Head, real name Aizawa Shouta, skillfully danced around his friend’s question. Radio Hero Present Mic, real name Hizashi Yamada, was not deterred.

 

“Ah, you’re no fun! C’mon, Shouta, live a little! Show your enthusiasm! Tell us your- urk!” Hizashi choked, finding his voice cut off as Aizawa Erased the excitable man’s quirk.

 

“Please, desist. It’s taking all my willpower to not strangle you with my scarf.”

 

“Boys, please,” Midnight drawled. “It’s sad when  _ I’m  _ the mature one.” The R-Rated Hero, real name, Nemuri Kayama, rolled her eyes at the antics of her two best friends. Really, they never once changed over the years.

 

“I thought you were always the mature one. Or did you give up your title as the R-Rated Hero?” Blood Hero Vlad King, real name Sekijiro Kan, couldn't help but join in.

 

“Focus, people.” Two words and Nezu had everyone’s attention back on him. Midnight had been preparing to fire back and the small mammal knew the other staff members were more than ready to jump into the verbal scuffle. “The examinees have cleared out most of the robots worth points, and we’ve reached the five-minute mark. It’s time to release the zero-pointers. Toshinori, if you would?”

 

The scrawny man nodded and pushed the big red button sitting next to him.

 

_ ‘Midoriya, Kirishima, Tsunotori...time to show us what you’re really made of.’ _

 

— LotW —

 

Izuku regretted wearing only a t-shirt and pair of shorts. Though he had easily torn through the faux-villains, many of the robo-horde had been able to land shots on him. Even with Dark Matter and Devour healing him, bruises and scrapes littered his arms, legs, and hands.

 

_ ‘That’s what I get for not listening to Kirishima...oh well. The exam must nearly be over, so I’ll worry about it when we’re done.’  _ Izuku took the moment of peace to stretch out his limbs and back.  _ ‘I never did come across that obstacle Present Mic was talking about...wonder where it is?’ _

 

Almost as if summoned by his thought, the ground beneath his feet began to shake, and Izuku looked around for the source. A shadow covered him, and the verdanette looked up.

 

The robot was massive, almost as tall as a skyscraper and definitely bigger than the surrounding buildings. The examinees nearby began to flee from the technological terror, some of them screaming their heads off as they did.

 

_ ‘Me and my big mouth...I could definitely destroy it, but with it being worth zero points it’s probably not worth the time. I’d better use the remaining time to rack up as many points as I can.’ _

 

Decision made, Izuku turned to run with the rest of the examinees when a faint sound caught his ears.

 

“...help…”

 

Like a switch had been flipped, Izuku pulled a one-eighty and sprinted towards the zero-pointer. Izuku would never ignore a call for help.

 

After all, that’s what heroes do.

 

As he ran, Izuku saw who had been calling for help. A pink-skinned girl with horns was caught under some rubble. Trapped on her stomach like she was, the girl seemed unable to find enough leverage to shift it off or use her quirk to move the slab of concrete. The zero-pointer glared balefully down at her, cocked one massive fist back, and swung with what appeared to be all its might. Izuku ran faster, knowing a Nova Bomb wouldn’t stop the momentum of the metal fist and could potentially catch the pink-skinned girl in the blast radius. Still, the verdanette drew on his Void Light, filling it with one single intention:

 

**PROTECT**

 

As the fist came down on the pair, Izuku blacked out…

 

— LotW —

 

_ “Let the monsters come,” said the voice. It was different from the first. “Let them always come. Let them climb the ruins of our structures, the piled bodies of their slain allies and our slain brethren. Let them come.” _

 

_ For sometimes, the evil approached you, and Izuku knew this. _

 

_ “You don’t care. You can’t care, and you must do this better than anyone. Don’t care. Let your enemies and their monsters come in the hundreds, in the thousands. Let them come with their homing rockets, with their bullets forged from exotic matter, with their weapons from lost dimensions.” _

 

_ For always, the evil had the upper hand, and Izuku knew this. _

 

_ “You don’t care. You won’t care, for you cannot be moved. You are the wall against which your enemies will break. _

 

_ “Let your allies turn their hands to fire and dance in the frigid ice. Let your allies show their strength to the world by being an unstoppable force, but when your enemies come from the shadows you must be the immovable object against the never-ending tide.” _

 

_ For never, the evil stopped coming, and Izuku knew this. _

 

_ “You are a wall. And walls don’t move. Because walls don’t care.” _

 

_ Forever, the Light would shine through. _

 

_ And Izuku knew this. _

 

— LotW —

 

A dome forged of pure Void Light prevented the metal fist from descending any further. Shimmering with the colors of the dawn, it filled its occupants with the Blessings of Light, hardening their skin and bolstering their muscles.

 

Izuku got a grip on the concrete slab and heaved. Feeling it shift, the pink-skinned girl pushed against the ground, using her back to help Izuku move the concrete. Finally, there was enough room for the girl to scramble out, and Izuku let the slab drop once she was clear.

 

“Thanks, Greenie. Got a plan for tall, mean, and metal over there?” asked the girl.

 

A bit startled by the nickname, Izuku nodded. “Yeah. Stay in here, you’re going to need to.”

 

Exiting the protective dome, Izuku drew upon his depleted well of Void Light. If it weren't for the strength boost from his Void-powered dome, the verdanette doubted this would be possible.

 

But it was. And he was doing it.

 

Jumping into the air and forcing Light out underneath him to carry himself further, Izuku charged the last of his Void Light into a Nova Bomb.

 

“Nova Bomb:  **Cataclysm** !”

 

And the world turned purple.

 

"EXAM OVER!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I honestly have no idea when the next chapter will be up. Just know that I am working on it!
> 
> This is officially the longest chapter I've written for LotW! Woo!
> 
> A question for you, lovelies: What should the name of Izuku's fireteam be?
> 
> See you next chapter!


	5. Aftershock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! Something I feel I need to address real quick: Izuku's power level, or more accurately: Is Izuku OP? The answer is: Yes, when going against opponents that don't require him to hold back. For those that don't know, Voidwalker Warlocks in the Destinyverse have the potential to be as destructive as a chain of nuclear reactions. Nova Bomb has an absolutely ridiculous blast radius, and while Nova Warp is smaller, it's still enough to two shot another Guardian using a Super. So, for opponents like the training bots, yes Izuku is OP. For opponents that are alive and made of flesh and blood (this includes Kurogiri), Izuku could be OP, but since that would involve killing the opponents, he will not be.
> 
> Good thing Voidlock abilities isn't everything he's limited to :3

_It is only thanks to the Shattered that I can speak to you, and even this will be brief. The Shattered has told me of the Void Light gifted to you, Midoriya Izuku, told me how you protected someone you didn’t even know simply because they needed help. You seem very similar to the one that inspired me to become the legend I am._

 

_Know this, Midoriya Izuku: You are the barrier. The Ward of Dawn and the Sentinel’s Shield allow you to bear the brunt of the impact, nothing more. You are the wall, and your Light keeps you standing._

 

— LotW —

 

Mina slowly removed her hands from her eyes. Even from behind the dome of energy Greenie had erected that explosion was blinding.

 

“Jeez, dude, overkill...much…huh?”

 

The zero-pointer was gone. The damage from where it had rampaged, however briefly, was still there, but Mina didn’t see even a scrap of metal indicating its presence. She stared in shock at the verdanette, who had his hands on his knees and was panting hard.

 

“Note...to self...Cata...clysm...hoo...takes…LOTS...of energy…” he muttered to himself. He looked up to see Mina staring at him, slack-jawed in awe. “Oh...are you...okay?”

 

“Y...yeah? Dude, what _was_ that? What the hell is your quirk?!” she asked.

 

“Void...Void Light,” Greenie responded, standing up straight. It looked like he had finally caught his breath. “I can shape it in different ways, though for the most part it just comes out in explosive payloads. The Ward of Dawn is...fairly recent,” he explained, gesturing to the violet dome, which finally dissipated.

 

“And you can just make huge stuff like that ALL THE TIME?!?”

 

“K-kinda? My quirk is self-feeding but it really only works if I destroy something with a Nova Bomb or a Nova Warp…” the verdanette trailed off. The amount of attention Mina was giving him wasn’t something he was used to, though he supposed he’d have to get used to it in the future. The horned girl opened her mouth to ask more questions but was interrupted by an elderly voice.

 

“Make way, make way...well done, all of you. Here, dearie, have a gummy...ah, you must be the source of that massive blast. Are the two of you all right?” An older lady using a large-scale syringe as a cane was standing in front of Mina and Greenie.

 

“R-Recovery Girl! I-I’m a huge fan!! Um, yes, I’m okay, my quirk heals me whenever I destroy something, I’m mostly just tired. Uh, s-some rubble fell on her,” Greenie pointed at Mina. “B-but my quirk...healed her, too?”

 

“Your quirk can heal yourself and others?” inquired Recovery Girl, somewhat disbelievingly.

 

“M-more like it deadens pain and bolsters natural defenses to allow whoever stands in the Ward to keep on fighting, but...kind of?” he stated, clearly unsure himself. Recovery Girl hummed thoughtfully, then held out her hand.

 

“Here. Take a gummy. It’ll help you regain some energy so you at least don’t pass out before you get home. Be careful with overusing your quirk. As for you, dearie,” she offered, turning to Mina. “Are you in any pain? That piece of rubble did land directly on top of you.”

 

“No, ma’am. Like Greenie said, his quirk deadened any pain I had, and even now after that Ward thingie is gone I’m not hurting. Thanks for that, by the way,” Mina said, flashing a grin at Greenie. “You really saved my butt.”

 

Greenie blushed, muttering out a welcome under his breath. He was clearly not used to thanks.

 

“Hmm...well, take it easy this following week. Many examinees forget that this part of the exam puts quite a strain on their quirks and their bodies,” Recovery Girl instructed. “And make sure to go to the doctor the instant you feel anything wrong with your back, young lady. Nothing worse than someone’s dream cut short by an injury.”

 

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

 

“You got it!”

 

Greenie and Mina’s responses seemed to be enough to appease Recovery Girl, and she moved on to the rest of the examinees.

 

— LotW —

 

Izuku could feel the redness in his cheeks. Ashido (the girl had properly introduced herself after Recovery Girl left) had stayed with him all the way to the front gates of U.A., chattering about random things: how well she did on the exam, how well he did on the exam, how awesome her quirk was, how even more awesome his quirk was, her favorite movies, her favorite foods, and so on. The only time he managed to get a word in edgewise was when she asked him a question, then it was right back to her rambling. Izuku first wondered if she didn’t need to breathe, then wondered if this was what it was like for people when he muttered.

 

As for his blush, every compliment sent his way was accompanied by either a wink or cheeky grin. Ashido certainly had no qualms about physical contact, for on the bus ride back to the main campus she took almost every sharp turn as an excuse to lean up against him. If Izuku didn’t know better, he’d say she was flirting with him.

 

Finally, they were outside U.A., and Izuku turned to open his mouth and politely say goodbye. Ashido beat him to the punch.

 

“Hey, Greenie.”

 

“Y-yes, Ashido?” he stammered out. The nickname did not help his perpetually red face.

 

“Thanks, again. You seriously saved me back there. It was very heroic of you,” she said. “And while I don’t think they would’ve let the zero-pointer crush me, I very much appreciate it.”

 

Izuku’s eyes widened. Ashido had already thanked him, of course, but this was the first time that anyone had described his actions as heroic.

 

“Don’t...don't mention it, Ashido. It’s what any hero would’ve done. Besides, it’s like you said, the staff wouldn’t have let you be-”

 

“Midoribro! You’re alive!”

 

Izuku was interrupted by the red-headed freight train that was Kirishima tackling him to the ground. The two wrestled for a moment before Kirishima managed to force Izuku in a headlock, mercilessly noogying him.

 

“Ah! Kirishima, please being the careful with Midori! He might be hurt!” exclaimed Pony, who trotted up behind the two.

 

“Nah, he walked out of there just fine! Come on, Midoribro, I ain’t letting go ‘till you say it.”

 

“I-I’m not saying it!”

 

“Say it!”

 

“No!!”

 

Mina couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. Her laughter caught Kirishima and Pony’s attention, the former recognizing the pink-skinned girl.

 

“Wait...Mina?” he asked, letting go of Izuku. Mina did her best to stifle her laughter, bringing it down to giggles.

 

“Y-yeah, who’s...Kiri? Ohmygosh, KIRI!” The girl launched herself at the red-head, who effortlessly caught her in a hug, spinning her around. “I never thought I’d see you again! You applied to U.A.?”

 

“Hell yeah, I did!”

 

As the two caught up, Pony went over to Izuku to grab his hand and help him get to his feet.

 

“You okay, Midori?” Pony asked.

 

“I’m okay, Tsunotori, just tired. Most of my Void Light is used up,” answered Izuku.

 

“This is good! Oh, who is the new person?”

 

“I’m Ashido Mina! Greenie saved me from the zero-pointer in the exam, so now we’re friends!” Mina exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. The pinkette had disentangled herself from her hug with Kirishima, and the two rejoined Izuku and Pony.

 

“We are?”

 

“You bet your cute butt we are!”

 

Izuku’s face immediately turned crimson, and his expression was akin to that of someone who had just been slapped by a fish. Mina began laughing again, and Kirishima sniggered as well before noticing a detail. Slinging his arm around Mina’s shoulders, he asked Pony a question. “So Tori, how long are you gonna hold Midoribro’s hand? You sure you two aren’t dating?”

 

The American girl looked confused, then glanced at her hand which, sure enough, was still holding Izuku’s. Squeaking in embarrassment, she quickly let go, opting to use both hands to cover her reddening face. Laughter began anew, and it was a while before any of them moved from the spot.

 

— LotW —

 

Mina was now officially part of their group (“ _Third_ Japanese friend!!”) She and Kirishima had been childhood friends before Kirishima’s family moved to the Musutafu province. With the declaration of her and Izuku being friends while also including Pony as a new horn buddy, the pinkette was more than happy to be a part of their group. Mina was the one to suggest a group chat for the four of them.

 

— LotW —

 

**[Ashido Mina] created “Hunting Party”**

 

**[Ashido Mina] invited [Kirishima Eijirou], [Tsunotori Pony], [Midoriya Izuku] to “Hunting Party”**

 

**[Ashido Mina]: here we go :D**

 

**[Ashido Mina] has changed their name to [Pinky]**

 

**[Pinky]: tres horny bois plus greenie :P**

 

**[Midoriya Izuku]: I’m sorry what?**

 

**[Pinky] changed [Midoriya Izuku] to [Greenie]**

 

**[Greenie]: Ashido why?**

 

**[Kirishima Eijirou]: Mina has a thing for pre-quirk pop culture. I think thats a reference to a podcast or something Midoribro**

 

**[Kirishima Eijirou] has changed their name to [RedRuby]**

 

**[Greenie] has changed their name to [Voidboi]**

 

**[Tsunotori Pony]: It is okay, Midori. We are horny friends, right Ashi?**

 

**[Pinky]:** **_horny friends_ ** **kiri help me im dying**

 

**[Pinky] has changed [Tsunotori Pony] to [Buckwild]**

 

**[Voidboi]: askdjflskdjt Tsunotori that’s not what that means**

 

**[Buckwild]: ...I am the confused.**

 

**[RedRuby]: *waves it off* Dont worry about it. Lets focus on the exam**

 

**[RedRuby]: How does everyone think they did?**

 

**[Pinky]: i was doing pretty good up until the zero-pointer**

 

**[Pinky]: skating around the city with my acid**

 

**[Pinky]: literally melting through some of them**

 

**[Pinky]: then greenie came along and fucked up that zero-pointer**

 

**[Voidboi]: hskljsdfkj**

 

**[Voidboi]: I mean.**

 

**[Buckwild]: I did the pretty good! Robots eyes were weak spots, but also used horns to carry people to the safety.**

 

**[RedRuby]: Good job Tori! What about you Midoribro**

 

**[Voidboi]: I got a big headstart and found out real fast that the robot’s armor barely resisted my Void Light. From there I basically rampaged through the rest of the city using Nova Warp.**

 

**[Voidboi]: And then yeah I saved Mina and found a new way to shape my Void Light.**

 

**[Voidboi]: I call it Ward of Dawn.**

 

**[RedRuby]: Nice Midoribro!**

 

**[Pinky]: your turn kiri :D**

 

**[RedRuby]: Um**

 

**[Pinky]: oh come on you cant have done that bad**

 

**[RedRuby]: No I did good I just uh**

 

**[RedRuby]: Sorta**

 

**[RedRuby]: Kinda**

 

**[RedRuby]: Punched the zero pointer into scrap?**

 

**[Pinky]: ...**

 

**[Pinky]:** **_you what_ **

 

**[Pinky]:** **_kiri you what_ **

 

**[Pinky]:** **_kiri mcfuckin shima answer me you bitch or so help me god_ **

 

**User [RedRuby] has disconnected**

 

**[Pinky]: _kI_** **_RI YOU CANT HIDE FROM ME_ **

 

**User [Pinky] has disconnected**

 

**[Voidboi]: ...you know, it’s getting late anyways.**

 

**[Voidboi]: Probably a good idea to turn in.**

 

**[Voidboi]: Goodnight, Tsunotori.**

 

**[Buckwild]: The good nights to you as well, Midori!**

 

**User [Voidboi] has disconnected**

 

**User [Buckwild] has disconnected**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review responses! Gonna limit myself to five cause otherwise it'll be too long.
> 
> Necron_Lord: Shinsou saved her :)
> 
> BlueOcean12: It wasn't my intention but I like the comparison! I hope I answered your worry with the AN on top!
> 
> Fayte: Aside from Zavala, Saint-14 is the only famous Titan I know that uses Void Light.
> 
> Syber_Slash: :D
> 
> Salty_Pistachios: I'm glad you liked it! Welcome to the madhouse.
> 
> See you guys in the next chapter!


	6. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this chapter, LotW passed 100 Kudos! Hurray !! :D *throws confetti*
> 
> Now, for reviews!
> 
> BlueOcean12: Oh...don't worry (:
> 
> Syber_Slash: Please, visit a doctor. Exploding hearts caused by cuteness overload are an unfortunately common problem.
> 
> BT_Donkey: Boi of Void
> 
> smurr79: I nearly killed my sister with these names. She laughed so hard she couldn't breathe for a solid minute.
> 
> Salty_Pistachios: I may or may not have been listening to TAZ prior to writing the chapter.
> 
> Leave a review, please! They encourage me and make me feel warm inside, tbh.

The following week was hell for the group of friends. Due to the sheer amount of applicants, it would take seven (or eight) days for U.A. to process them all. The result was a bunch of stressed-out young adults and the Hunting Party (as Mina like to call them) were no different. Mina constantly spammed the group chat, throwing pre-quirk memes and jokes at the other three, and while Kirishima was able to put up with it, Izuku and Pony were not.

 

**[Hunting Party]**

 

**[Voidboi]: Ashido please desist.**

 

**[Pinky]: but greenie i havent even told you about my great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandpa who warned everybody the titanic would sink**

 

**[Voidboi]: ...your ancestor warned people the Titanic would sink?**

 

**[Pinky]: yup! they wouldnt listen to him tho but he just kept on telling them**

 

**[Pinky]: eventually they kicked him out of the theater :D**

 

**[Voidboi]: I am muting you.**

 

That’s not to say the other three were any better. Kirishima stress-lifted, going for so long and so hard in the gym that Mina would have to drag him out, sometimes literally as his body would fail to move from being overworked.

 

Pony was prone to muttering in rapid-fire English while pacing back and forth. While this normally wouldn’t be too much of a problem, her horns would begin to orbit her while Pony muttered and paced, and if one of the others tried to disturb her, the horns would lash out violently, seemingly without Pony noticing.

 

As for Izuku, he was agitated. Again, this normally wouldn’t be a problem, but there weren’t any other young adults in Japan that got so agitated they learned how to short-range teleport by accident (Izuku called it Blinking.)

 

It was Inko that came up with a solution for their collective anxiety. Now that Dagobah Beach was clear of all the trash and junk, it was quickly becoming a popular place for friends and family to enjoy. Izuku liked the idea, and invited the others through their group chat. The day was warmer than most spring days, and it was only early afternoon. Izuku’s friends quickly accepted, and they all agreed to meet at the beach in an hour.

 

 _‘I’ll have to remember to thank Mom for the good idea,’_ Izuku thought to himself.

 

— LotW —

 

Everything had gone well. Kirishima and Mina had arrived together, with Pony showing up soon after. Izuku had greeted them at the beachfront, and everyone had their own bag for the beach (Mina brought a beach umbrella.)

 

The group claimed a spot, laid down their towels and set up the umbrella. They laughed and joked, munching on the snacks Inko had made for them. Eventually, Kirishima got bored.

 

“Hey, Midoribro! Race you to the water!”

 

With that the red-head stripped off his shirt and sprinted to the ocean, leaving Izuku to yelp and quickly follow suit. They never really did lose their competitive streak, and both boys loved to get the drop on the other.

 

Mina laughed at their antics, and turned to see if Pony found it just as funny, only to see the foreign girl staring with a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Mina followed her line of sight, landing on Izuku’s back. The pink-skinned girl grinned mischievously.

 

“Hey, Tori-”

 

“Ah! I was not the staring at Midori!” exclaimed Pony. Realizing what she had practically just shouted, Pony buried her red face in her hands.

 

“Well, I was going to ask if you had a crush on Greenie, but that kinda confirms it,” Mina snickered.

 

“Noooooooooo…” was the muffled reply.

 

“So what do you like about him? How strong he is? His cuteness? The fact that you could grate cheese on his abs?”

 

“...I am liking Midori’s smile…” Pony responded. Mina blinked, a bit taken aback. She thought back to U.A.’s exam, to when Izuku had saved her. The pink-skinned girl remembered Izuku’s face when he created the Ward of Dawn.

 

In her memory, he was smiling.

 

“Y’know, Tori? I can see how you fell for him,” Mina said. The two were quiet for a while, watching Kirishima and Izuku wrestle in the water for dominance. Pony slowly lowered her hands, though her face was still red.

 

“...I am also agreeing that you can be grating the cheese on Midori’s abs.”

 

“Ha! I knew it!” laughed Mina. She giggled at Pony’s even redder face, then stood up. “Come on, Tori,” she said invitingly. “Time to show the boys our swimsuits!”

 

“Eep!”

 

— LotW —

 

Izuku was, overall, having a good time with his friends. Mina brought laughter, Kirishima brought adventure, and Pony...well, Izuku was happy to spend time with Pony, no matter the situation. Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts, and focused on chasing down Kirishima. Even though his best friend made it to the water before him, Izuku was confident in his ability to dunk the red-head in retaliation.

 

Then in the middle of his and Kirishima’s struggles, he felt something soft jump on his back.

 

“Wha-?”

 

“Now, Kiri! Get him!” cheered the unknown soft thing. Izuku let go of Kirishima, stumbling back in the shallow water, trying to regain his balance. Pink flashed in the corner of his eye, and it was about then that his brain caught up.

 

“A-Ashido! What’re you doing?” he yelped.

 

“Helping Kiri, ya goof!” was the response.

 

Deciding that he had had enough of that, Izuku reached out and-

 

-blinked-

 

-and Mina splashed down into the water as Izuku teleported a few feet to the right. Mina came up spluttering, looking somewhat cross.

 

“Unfair! Foul! Since when can you teleport, Greenie?!”

 

“S-since a few days ag-” Izuku’s voice caught in his throat when he turned to face Mina.

 

The young woman’s bikini did nothing to hide her curves, and Izuku looked away as his face began to flush. This didn’t help, as Pony waded into his vision. The American girl’s swimsuit was more modest than Mina’s but still revealing, and user of Void Light soon felt as though his head was on fire. Pony froze as well, and the two locked eyes, Pony’s face turning bright red. For a moment the two of them felt as if they were the only two in the world.

 

Kirishima broke the moment by tackling Izuku as best he could in the water. The verdanette took advantage of the distraction and bodily threw his red-headed friend, Light empowering the throw and sending Kirishima farther than normal. Izuku gave chase to the flailing form.

 

Pony was still locked in place, face beet red, and Mina waded over to the young woman. The pink-skinned girl waved her hands in Pony’s face, shocking her out of her trance. Pony blinked, and sagged with relief that the embarrassment was over. Or, so she thought.

 

A shit-eating grin crept its way onto Mina’s face. “He liiiiiiiiiiikes you~”

 

Pony’s face was hidden in her hands again.

 

— LotW —

 

The moment was finally here. The letter from U.A. had arrived, and was sitting on his desk, waiting to be opened. Izuku stared at it for a long time, not moving, not even daring to pick it up and open it. Notifications from the group chat chimed, no doubt his friends showing their results, but Izuku couldn’t bring himself to look.

 

His old self-doubt had returned full force, and was eating at him like a starving coyote. Memories of being tormented and bullied at school were racing through his brain, and the young man was lost in an endless loop of self-degradation.

 

~~_Open it, O Lightbearer mine_ ~~

 

He blinked, and the envelope was opened, the letter in his hand. Shaking with nervousness, Izuku read the piece of paper that would decide his future.

 

~~_Lightmongers wield their own fate, O Darkdrinker mine_ ~~

 

_Dear Midoriya Izuku,_

 

_This letter is written to you to confirm U.A.’s acceptance of your application. Your written exam was passed with flying colors, and you finished the practical exam with a total of 79 Villain points - more than enough to pass the practical._

 

_However, a hero is not measured just by their ability to defeat villains. For your shielding and protection of an applicant against the zero-pointer, and subsequent rescue of said applicant by defeating the zero-pointer, the judges awarded you 30 Rescue points._

 

_The total of 109 points places you at the top of the leader board - second overall, beaten by Kirishima Eijirou, who had a score of 110 points._

 

_Congratulations, Midoriya Izuku. This is your hero academia._

 

_Please be moved into your dorm room at least five days before the beginning of term, so as to situate yourself and meet your classmates of Hero Course 1-A._

 

 _Best regards,_  
_President Nezu_ _  
President of U.A._

 

_Top Five Final Standings:_

_  
_ _Kirishima Eijirou - 110_

_Midoriya Izuku - 109_

_Bakugou Katsuki - 98_

_Shinsou Hitoshi - 93_

_Tsunotori Pony -  87_

 

Izuku felt the tears welling up, as he read and reread the letter. He hadn’t just gotten in, he had made it into the top five, and beaten Bakugou on top of that.

 

He was going to be a hero.

 

Izuku scrambled out of his room, calling for his mom. His dream was going to become reality.

 

— LotW —

 

~~_O Lightbearer mine, how innocent you remain. How blind you are, to stare into the Void and not see what it tells you._ ~~

 

~~_But I can tell you, O Lightbearer mine. This I will tell you, two truths and one lie._ ~~

 

_You will lose your Light._

 

_You will lose your love._

 

_You will kill._

 

~~_Worry not, O Lightmonger mine, for I shall guide to you greatness._ ~~

 

~~_After all, a battle is no fun if one side is stronger than the other, O Lightbearer mine._ ~~

 

~~_Grow fat with strength, and conquer, Lightbearer mine. It is your destiny._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anybody else excited for the new content, Shadowkeep? It's not just the return of Eris I'm excited about, it's all the changes Bungie is making to Destiny 2 now that they've broken away from Activision. For example: Cross-saving, the ability to jump from PC to PS4 to Xbox One and keep all your save data! But I digress.
> 
> Shout out to my sister for telling me how girls talk, lol.
> 
> I've got a family vacation to Colorado coming up, so unless I get hit by a nuclear warhead of motivation and inspiration, the next chapter should be out by July.
> 
> See you next time, lovelies!


	7. U.A.: Day One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! It is July (technically), so I will post this! But first, reviews!
> 
> Necron_Lord: It was an Ahamkara that told Calus to grow fat from strength. He just took it as his motto.
> 
> MITOPLAYS10: Only Void here, don't we all, thanks, imma voidlock fite me, same, you're welcome!
> 
> Larry: *Otis face* Perhaps.
> 
> Syber_Slash: Two are true, one is a lie. It's up to youse guys to find the bullshit.

“Have you got everything, Izuku?”

 

“Yes, Mom.”

 

“Clothes, your school uniform-”

 

“Mom.”

 

“-gym clothes for workout, some figurines from your collection-”

 

“Mom.”

 

“-your journals for quirks and for dreams-”

 

“Mom…”

 

“-and some tissues, you know how quickly we go through them-”

 

“Mom!”

 

Inko stopped, clutching a box of tissues. Izuku smiled gently and pried the tissues out of her hands, placing them in his backpack.

 

“Mom, I’m just moving into the U.A. dorms, not out of the country. It’s only a thirty minute trip.

 

“I...I know,” Inko responded. “It’s just hard seeing your baby move out. You’ll understand when you have kids of your own…”

 

The two were silent for a bit before Izuku spoke up again. “What’s really bothering you, Mom?”

 

“...I...I still…” she murmured, eyes tearing up. Izuku dropped his backpack and suitcase, then wrapped the green-haired woman in a hug.

 

Izuku didn’t blame his mom for not encouraging his dream before his quirk showed up. From a logical standpoint, she was protecting her son. Even heroes with powerful quirks fell in battle, slain by a villain stronger or craftier than them. For a mother to willingly encourage her quirkless son to pursue that path was unthinkable.

 

It didn’t stop the pain Izuku had felt that day.

 

After the event with the sludge villain, Izuku had been promptly grabbed by his mom, who was in hysterics and dangerously close to flooding the apartment with her tears. At first Izuku had thought they were tears of relief, but catching some of his mom’s babbling made him think differently.

 

Once Inko had calmed somewhat, the two sat down and talked, mending the relationship between mother and son that they didn’t even know had broken.

 

Izuku sighed, feeling his mom shake in his arms.

 

“Mom...we’ve talked about this a lot. We’ve repeated this conversation multiple times, and I will always tell you the same thing: I forgive you,” he said. “You can stop blaming yourself, because you’re the only one that does. It’s okay.”

 

Inko let out a sob, clutching at her son. It had hurt her to deny her son his dream, and it had hurt her again to see the sludge villain supposedly kill her son. To then see her son unlock his quirk and save not only himself but Katsuki was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She was still working through the self-blame, but the two of them were getting there.

 

“I’ll miss you, Izuku. Please come by as much as you want,” was Inko’s quiet beg.

 

“I’ll bring Kirishima, Tsunotori and Ashido with me,” he promised.

 

— LotW —

 

The dorms were well furnished, as expected of a prestigious academy such as U.A. Izuku sat at the desk, journal open and pen scribbling furiously. Mina had gotten it into her head that everyone should introduce themselves and their quirks, and basically forced the students of 1-A into the dorm’s common room. Kirishima, Pony and Mina he already knew about, along with Bakugou, but the other fifteen…well, Izuku had a field day.

 

_ ‘Jiro Kyoka, quirk: Headphone Jack. Shoji Mezo, quirk: Dupliarms. Koda Koji, quirk: Anivoice. Hagakure Tooru, quirk: Invisibility. Tokoyami Fumikage, quirk: Dark Shadow. Yaoyorozu Momo, quirk: Creation. Shinsou Hitoshi, quirk: Brainwashing. Iida Tenya, quirk: Engine. Mashirao Ojiro, quirk: Tail. Uraraka Ochako, quirk: Gravity. Todoroki Shoto, quirk: Half-Cold Half-Hot. Asui Tsuyu, quirk: Frog. Sato Rikido, quirk: Sugar Rush. Sero Hanta, quirk: Tape. Kaminari Denki, quirk: Electricity. _

 

_ ‘So many possibilities! I can’t wait to see them in action!’ _

 

The verdanette’s enthusiasm had been curbed somewhat when Mina had let slip he destroyed zero-pointer. Izuku still wasn’t used large amounts of positive attention, and had shrunk away at the praise and incredulous looks he had received.

 

Now they were in the 1-A classroom, waiting for their homeroom teacher. Some students were talking amongst themselves, keeping the chatter to a low volume. Kirishima had challenged Shoji to an arm-wrestling contest, though Iida kept a close eye on the two to make sure they didn’t break the desks.

 

The door to the classroom slid open, and all talk instantly died. Kirishima looked up from the arm-wrestling to see who was coming in, which Shoji took advantage of and forced Kirishima’s hand down, forming a mouth on one of his limbs to smirk at Kirishima before turning around to face the front.

 

A yellow caterpillar rolled into the classroom. 1-A stared incredulously as the caterpillar stood up and pulled down a hidden zipper, revealing a scruffy looking man dressed in black. His eyes roamed the room as he downed a jelly packet.

 

“Immediately silent. Good. Turns out you lot are a bit more rational than I thought,” he said. “I am Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher. You’ve had five days to familiarize yourself with both the U.A. campus and your classmates. Judging by the noise level before I entered, I’d say you accomplished the latter at the very least.

 

“Report to the outside training field at Gamma Gym. In the changing rooms you’ll find your personal locker with a gym uniform. Put them on then gather outside. You have ten minutes.”

 

No one dared to breathe, and for a solid minute the students stared at Aizawa in shock. He sighed with exasperation.

 

“Nine minutes.”

 

1-A scrambled to the changing rooms.

 

— LotW —

 

As soon as Kaminari had joined the group, Aizawa clicked a stopwatch, preventing the timer from going off.

 

“Forty-eight seconds remaining. If you truly desire to be a hero, you’ll need to increase your speed,” he drawled. No one in 1-A said anything, understanding that class was well and truly in session.

 

“So, in middle and high school you took physical apprehension tests to measure your level of fitness. You’ll be doing this here, with one exception: you get to use your quirks.”

 

Low muttering broke out among some of the assembled students, and Aizawa let it pass. This time.

 

“Bakugou. You had the highest villain point total. What was your throw record in high school?” inquired Aizawa.

 

“Seventy-eight meters.”

 

“Do it again,” Aizawa instructed, tossing a ball at Bakugou. “But this time, use your quirk.”

 

Bakugou smirked confidently, and stepped into the throwing circle, rolling his shoulder. The ash-blonde jogged in place for a bit, building up a sweat, then readied himself to throw the ball.

 

It was silent…

 

**“DIE!!!”**

 

The explosion seemed to rock the world, and no one could see the ball after the blinding force of power. A device beeped from Aizawa’s pocket, and he pulled it out to examine it.

 

“Hmn. Nine-hundred fifty-eight meters.”

 

Bakugou’s smirk became a murderous grin, and the rest of 1-A was in awe as the realization sunk in.

 

“It’s illogical to not test your limits with your quirks,” the scruffy teacher explained. “Today, we fix that. Push your limits. Go beyond.”

 

— LotW —

 

The tests were interesting to watch. From observation alone it was clear what each student specialized in. Iida took the highest score for the fifty meter dash, one hundred meter dash and the stamina run test, though Momo, Pony and surprisingly Shinsou were hot on his tail for that last one.

 

Ochako did the best for the standing and running long jump, as canceling gravity tended to beat out the jumping distance of a frog and short-range teleportation followed by a controlled glide. Neither Tsuyu or Izuku were upset, instead congratulating her. 

 

Shoji had held the record for the grip strength test before Kirishima overused OFA and crushed the grip machine. Aizawa counted it, explaining the grips maxed out at nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine kilograms of force. Sato had done third best, and was astounded by Kirishima’s strength.

 

Shinsou stood proudly at the top for side steps, which no one had really expected. The tired looking boy cited a lot of practice slipping through crowds, gaining experience in redirecting his momentum at a moment’s notice.

 

The last test was the ball throw. Ochako had simply removed the ball’s gravity before letting it go, earning her first with a score of infinity. Shoji and Sato both came close to beating Bakugou’s record (first was so far out of reach it wasn’t even funny; second was the spot everyone was now vying for) but neither succeeded. Pony struck it with a mule kick, Iida performed his own kick in the style of a roundhouse, and Momo even shot it out of a high velocity cannon. Despite their valiant efforts, Bakugou remained second.

 

“Midoriya,” Aizawa called. “You’re up.”

 

Izuku swallowed nervously, then stepped into the throwing circle and picked up the ball. This was a good chance to test out a variant of his Nova Bomb he had  ~~ dreamed about ~~  thought of recently.

 

Blinking straight up, Izuku drew on his Void Light, letting more than usual bleed into the volatile payload. Violet energy encompassed the ball, and Izuku used the extra energy to form a barrier around the ball. Kirishima may have gotten a pass on the grip strength test, but Izuku was taking no chances.

 

“Nova Bomb: Lance!”

 

Izuku hurled the Void Light like a javelin at the wall marking the border of U.A.’s campus. The projectile soared straight and true, before gravity regained its hold and pulled it down. An explosion of purple light struck just before the wall, and not long after Aizawa’s device beeped, signalling the stop of the ball. He pulled out the device and looked at the screen. A single raised eyebrow was enough to make him the focus of the entire class.

 

“...one point eight kilometers. Well done, Midoriya. Kirishima, do your throw and we’ll be done.”

 

Chatter from the class started up again, only to be silenced with a glance from Aizawa. 1-A got the message: idle noises would not be tolerated.

 

Kirishima walked towards the pitching circle, high-fiving Izuku as they passed each other as though Kirishima was tagging in. The successor of One For All took a deep breath and exhaled, picking up a ball and testing its weight.

 

Truth be told, Kirishima probably could’ve done the best on most of the events thanks to One For All. However…

 

_ ‘One For All isn’t my quirk, no matter what All Might says. I did my best with only Hardening, but the grip strength test I tried to combine them. I overdid it and would’ve done the worst if it weren’t for that technicality. But what should I do here? Aizawa-sensei knows how incredibly strong I am now...should I throw the ball with One For All?’ _

 

“Kirishima.”

 

The red-head looked up at Aizawa from where he had been staring at the ground.

 

“You’ve been limiting yourself. With the strength you displayed in the grip strength test you could have dominated most of these tests. Explain why you did not,” commanded Aizawa.

 

“...I have a dual quirk,” Kirishima explained. He thought he heard Mina gasp, but continued. “My ability to harden my body is because of the immense strength; it helps me deal with the backlash. If I ever lost control of that strength I wouldn’t hurt just myself, I’d hurt others just because they were in the area.

 

“For most of my life I passed off the hardening as my quirk, but recently I’ve been training it. What’s the point of having such power if I never use it? Sensei...for the first time in my life, I’m going to use my strength and my hardening together.”

 

It was quiet. Dual quirks were incredibly rare, as most children inherited a variation of their parents’ quirks. A combination of the parents’ quirks wasn’t unheard of, but they were usually lopsided. Spontaneous quirks, quirks that were neither a combination or variation of the parents’ quirks, were rare as well, but a dual quirk?

 

Well, Todoroki viewed Kirishima with new eyes. The bichromatic young man didn’t feel so alone anymore.

 

Aizawa smirked. “All right then. Let’s up the stakes, shall we? Beat Midoriya or you’re expelled, effective immediately.”

 

1-A stood ramrod in shock, but bit their tongues. Kirishima simply nodded, accepting the deal. This was U.A., the best hero university in Japan. He had to prove he was meant to be here.

 

Kiri held the ball, drawing on One For All while simultaneously tensing his body to activate Hardening. To everyone watching, the arm and hand holding the ball began to glow a bright ruby red. Kirishima drew the ball back to wind up the throw…

 

“Kinetic Spark…”

 

...and released.

 

“...IGNITION!”

 

Jiro screamed in agony as Kirishima’s throw broke the sound barrier. 1-A and Aizawa were blasted back from the backlash, though Momo quickly recovered, creating gauze to stop Jiro’s ears from bleeding and earmuffs to prevent more noise from damaging her ears further.

 

“Get her to Recovery Girl. Don’t worry about missing anything, there aren’t any classes except homeroom today,” ordered Aizawa. Momo helped Kyoka up, Tokoyami giving his aid by summoning Dark Shadow for the punk girl to lean on.

 

“Let this be a lesson: be aware of your allies’ weaknesses, as you might just be that weakness. Now, Kirishima…” Aizawa trailed off, looking at the device in his hands. Unlike with Izuku, he kept his poker face, not revealing a thing to the remaining 1-A students. “...hmn. Looks like I’m not expelling anyone today. Go to your dorms and rest. The real classes begin tomorrow.”

 

And with that, Aizawa left.

 

— LotW —

 

“Nezu, I have a concern.”

 

“Only one concern this year, Aizawa? You must actually like your class!”

 

“Kirishima threw the test ball all the way to Hawaii.”

 

“And? If you’ll recall, All Might threw it to California when he joined!”

 

“All Might was facing east on the old training grounds. Because of the remodel since then, Kirishima was facing west when he threw the ball.”

 

“...I see your concern. Have Kirishima join the Hero class for control, along with the others pre-selected.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinetic Spark: A combination of Hardening and One For All. The user gathers kinetic energy in a specific part of the body, usually the arms or legs. The body part glows red from within, signaling stored kinetic energy. The deeper the glow, the more energy stored. Upon release of this energy, it converts from kinetic to thermal, releasing a blast of heat and energy. The body part also automatically hardens to help resist or prevent entirely backlash. Ignition is only a very basic version on Kinetic Spark; the user has the potential to become a living force of kinetic energy.
> 
> This really makes no sense but Kaminari should be dead the way his quirk works so SCIENCE!
> 
> Also I may or may not have changed that last bit in chapter six :3c
> 
> Bye-bye


	8. Good and Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay. I'm heading off to college soon, and got so bogged down and stressed with everything I had to do. But, I managed to finish this chapter, and with any luck, the next one will have been written from my college dorm!

_ Nightstalkers have always been able to track their prey. The Void tethers don’t just weaken the prey, they mark it, allowing for the Nightstalker and their allies to follow it easily. This is why Nightstalkers follow the Way of the Trapper or the Way of the Pathfinder. _

 

_ But for the Nightstalkers that follow the Way of the Wraith? They can see how far away the prey is, how close, how many barriers stand between the Nightstalker and their prey. What do they see that tells them this, you ask? _

 

_ They see the prey’s very soul. _

 

— LotW —

 

“You think you’re hot shit now, Deku? Huh?!”

 

In the boys’ locker room, Bakugou had cornered Izuku. The ash-blonde had decided that his once childhood friend was his rival now (and Kirishima, but he knew Izuku, so Kirishima could wait.)

 

Izuku sighed and ducked under Bakugou’s outstretched arm. The rivalry was very much one-sided, and Izuku wanted no part in it. “No, Kacchan. Unlike you, I’ve got more on my mind than being number one,” he responded.

 

“Bakugou! Leave Midoriya alone; can’t you see he’s trying to change?” Iida interjected. 1-A had done as Aizawa instructed, retreating to the locker rooms to change out of the gym uniforms back to their university uniforms. The boys had split into various groups as they changed; Izuku and Kirishima were quietly discussing the redhead's new power in one corner, while Iida and Shinsou were having what appeared to be a debate about something. Kaminari, Seto, and Sato laughed at a joke one of the three had told, and Tokoyami had allowed Dark Shadow to come out so that Koda could silently fawn over the sentient quirk while the bird-headed boy talked to Ojiro. Shoji, Todoroki, and Bakugou stood both in silence and isolation as they changed. Shoji simply preferred his privacy, though would speak up when addressed. Todoroki had been cold and distant the entire five days and only gave one-word responses. Bakugou was just silently fuming that Izuku had beaten his ball throw, and had decided to do something about it.

 

“Fuck off, Four Eyes! I ain’t talking to you!” Bakugou shouted. Izuku, who was now standing by the door and was waiting for Kirishima, let out another sigh.

 

_ ‘Same old Kachan…’ _

 

Everyone else stopped what they were doing to focus on what was going on. Kaminari spoke up first. “Hey man, leave it alone. I mean, sure I’m bummed out I didn’t throw the ball as far as I wanted to, but I’m not ragging on other people about it.”

 

“Wasn’t talking to you either, you fucking Pichu!”

 

Kaminari visibly wilted, but Kirishima stepped in. “Look, Bakubro,” he started. “You really wanna get riled up over someone beating you? Try me on for size.”

 

Kirishima smirked, banging his fists together. The result was a sound like metal scraping on metal, and a red glow infusing his fists. “After all, not counting Ochako, I got the highest score throw.”

 

Before Bakugou could let out a biting retort, Izuku spoke up again. “Um, guys? You’re all glowing.”

 

As one, everyone turned to look at their green-haired classmate. Izuku was blinking rapidly and looking at everyone in turn.

 

To the wielder of Light, the other boys in the locker room were flashing a violet-red. As they moved, the color followed, showing the position they had just been in seconds before. To Izuku’s left, violet-blue shapes were flashing around, and it took the verdanette a few seconds to realize that he was watching the girls in their locker room. A blush started to crawl across his cheeks.

 

"͝F̴͠͝u̕͏̶m҉̶i͘̕k̸̷ą͏g̷͜e͡,̴ ̴s̵̸t͢͜a͢y̛͘͠ ̶b̧a͜͡c͘̕k̸!̡͜"̧

 

Dark Shadow slammed Izuku against the wall, the sentient quirk screeching in the verdanette’s face. "̷̢Į͏ ͜d͜o̕n̸̨ '͞t k̡͟no̸̧͜w̶͝ ̢̡̕how̧ y̨̕o̧̕ų͠ ̸̧g̵͠o̡͏t heŗ̷͏e,̴̢͠ v̶̡o͠i̶̷d̢ ̡̛b̴̸e̢̕͜a͜͝st,̢̨ ̡͝b̸u̷̧͠t̷̸ y͘͏o̷̡u͝ ̕͟g̶̢̡o ̴̸no̕ ̕fu͢͏rt͠h͞e̵̕r!̛̛͟"̨͡

 

“Stun Grenade!” Bakugou shouted.

 

The bright flash of light and sound surprised Dark Shadow, and the sentient quirk released an unholy scream before letting go of Izuku and retreating to Tokoyami. Before anyone else could move, Aizawa slammed the door open, quirk activated. Dark Shadow was snuffed out, and the male students all felt the mental block that came with their quirk being erased.

 

“What happened?” he growled. All were silent, their minds catching up to the events that had just occurred in quick succession. “I said, what. Happened?”

 

“I lost control of Dark Shadow, sensei, and he attacked Midoriya,” confessed Tokoyami. “Something triggered him, and I am unsure as to what it might have been.”

 

“Midoriya. You are unharmed?”

 

“Only winded, sensei,” was Izuku’s reply.

 

“Hmn. Tokoyami. You will be joining the class on control after tomorrow’s hero training,” Aizawa stated. Tokoyami nodded his agreement, sensing there was no argument he could make that would convince Eraserhead otherwise.

 

The underground hero left the boys’ locker room, and the male students of 1-A quickly changed, silence reigning in the aftermath. Izuku slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. The sheer amount of  _ darkness _ that was Dark Shadow…the way it had filled his vision, and blocked everything else out… 

 

If it hadn’t been for Bakugou and Aizawa, the Void Light inside of him would have erupted, uncaring of what it damaged so long as the entity of darkness had been scoured from existence. Breathing back under his control, Izuku took a glance around the locker room.

 

The flashing colors were gone.

 

— LotW —

 

The rest of the day passed without much incident. Izuku did try to summon back the thermal vision he had supposedly gained but seemed unable to do so. The verdanette thought that perhaps he might dream of it tonight.

 

To be honest with himself, it was concerning that he didn’t remember the dreams, but still learned from them and implemented what he had learned. It was almost as if something was purposefully blocking his memory.

 

Or perhaps...some _ one. _

 

Izuku knew the Void Light wasn’t a quirk. He knew it had been given to him, that it wasn’t his own (the Void pulsed at that thought.)

 

He knew it was a weapon designed for mass destruction, made to blow away whatever opposition he faced. The Void wanted to consume, and he hadn’t given it anything to eat since the entrance exam.

 

_ Reality is the finest flesh, O Lightbearer mine. _

 

With a heavy sigh, Izuku shut his eyes. He was at U.A. to learn how to control his powers, and that was exactly what he would do.

 

His sleep was fitful.

  
  


_ It’s very simple: you reach into the [Void] - past the extinction of life, past the fears and the nightmares and the visions of your deaths - and grab what you find there. I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it. _

 

_ Do you? _

  
  


_ With every step, Izuku’s feet sank another inch into the marsh. A smell not dissimilar to sulfur and death invaded his nostrils, but the verdanette remained steadfast, even as his eyes watered. _

 

_ “Just a little farther,” a voice chirped. Izuku clenched his jaw. He knew. _

 

_ From the entrance of a cave’s maw, rancid green eyes flickered, constantly shifting over each other and finding cover behind small, darting forms. _

 

_ A sharp crack filled the air as Izuku fires his gun once. In response, the eyes shrieked and rushed for the lone figure. _

 

_ [Gunslingers say you lack precision.] _

 

_ ‘Not every shot needs to be perfect.’ _

 

_ <Bladedancers say you lack speed.> _

 

_ ‘Speed doesn’t win every battle.’ _

 

_ Izuku draws his arm back as a bow appears in his hands. A single shot is all he needs. _

 

_ “Feast, my friends.” _

 

— LotW —

 

“Today, we’ll be doing a Fox Hunt.”

 

The second day of U.A. started with class 1-A electing their class representative and vice representative (Momo and Shinsou respectively) and the media attempting to force themselves in based on a rumor they had heard. If the gossip mill was anything to go by, Present Mic very much enjoyed himself removing the press from the premises.

 

“Excuse me, Aizawa-sensei, but what is a fox hunt?” Iida inquired.

 

“It’s a simple enough exercise. One person is designated the Fox, while everyone else is a Hunter. The Hunters have a set time limit to catch the Fox, while the Fox must do everything in their power to avoid being caught.

 

“Usually it’s an illegal sport played on bikes, but someone somewhere decided it would be a good hero exercise,” explained Aizawa. “You will be performing this exercise in City Block F. Oh, and you’ll want these.”

 

A depressed button on a remote revealed multiple hidden panels in the walls numbered one through twenty.

 

“These are your hero costumes. Put them on, then assemble at City Block F.” A smirk crawled across Aizawa’s face. “Plus Ultra, everyone.”

  
  


— LotW —

 

Izuku hung back in the changing rooms, staring at his case. He thought back to when Toshinori had brought him his birthday present…

 

_ Flashback _

 

_ “Here you go, Young Midoriya.” Toshinori held out what looked like a stylized case, embossed with Power Loader’s support logo. “Maijima finished it yesterday. He said your voidglass was the hardest material he’d ever worked with.” _

 

_ Izuku took the case with shaking arms and opened it. Inside was a helmet, crowned with voidglass crystals. Three smaller voidglass crystals clustered over where his left eye would be stared into his soul. _

 

_ “It’s...it’s perfect. Thank you!” exclaimed Izuku. _

 

_ “You’re welcome, Young Midoriya. Happy Birthday.” _

 

_ Flashback End _

 

The helmet had a one-way visor, allowing him to see the world while hiding exactly what he was looking at. The voidglass crystals built into the helmet would allow Izuku to draw on his powers for a longer period, or act as a back-up reserve of Void Light if he exhausted his natural well.

 

Also in the case was a duster, some light gauntlets, a pair of pants and boots. Each item was laced with voidglass dust, and while it wouldn’t provide the same boost as the helmet, the voidglass dust boosted the clothing articles’ durability by a massive amount, allowing for lightweight clothing with the maximum protection possible. Izuku donned his outfit, each piece feeling as though he were complete.

 

Time to show the world what Void Light could do.

 

— LotW —

 

“Everyone, gather around.” The students assembled in front of Aizawa, who was holding a small box full of paper slips. “This Fox Hunt is going to be different from the normal version. Instead of the usual free-for-all, you’ll be placed on teams of two. The pair that catches the Fox doesn’t have to do tonight’s essay.”

 

Excited murmurings broke out among some of the less academically inclined students, though all were intrigued by the offer.

 

“As for the Fox,” Aizawa continued, speaking over the students. “He should be here any second. While we’re waiting, I’ll draw names to create the teams. This will simulate the randomness of fieldwork, where you might have to team up with someone you’ve never worked with before or don’t get along well with.”

 

With that, the scruffy teacher drew two slips of paper.

 

“Koda and Shoji, Team A.” The two quietest members of the class shared a glance and nodded.

 

“Tokoyami and Ashido, Team B.” Mina immediately bounced over to Tokoyami, who was watching Aizawa impassively. Dark Shadow peered out from behind the boy’s shoulder to glare at Izuku but relented when Mina started stroking his head.

 

“Tsunotori and Kaminari, Team C.” Kaminari swaggered over to the best of his ability, trying to show off while Pony pouted. She had wanted to team with Izuku.

 

“Ojiro and Sato, Team D.” The tailed boy walked over to Sato and bowed, who simply grinned in response and then returned the bow.

 

“Shinsou and Uraraka, Team D.” The pair had already been standing together, and Uraraka raised her hand for a fist bump. Shinsou rolled his eyes but complied, smirk hidden behind his mouthpiece.

 

“Bakugou and Sero, Team E.” Bakugou sneered while Sero looked anxious but determined.

 

“Yaoyorozu and Jirou, Team F.” Similar to Ojiro, Momo bowed to Jirou who returned the bow before letting her music catch her attention once again.

 

“Todoroki and Iida, Team G.” The scarred boy stiffly made his way to Iida. Knowing of Todoroki’s anti socialness, the armored student simply offered a nod, which was slowly returned after a moment’s hesitation.

 

“Hagakure and Asui, Team H.” A pair of gloves floated over to Tsuyu, pumping themselves in excitement. Tsuyu stayed crouched on the ground, lost in thought.

 

“Finally, Izuku and Kirishima, Team I.” The inheritor of One For All grinned at Izuku, pounding his fists together and infusing them with a red glow. The verdanette snapped his fingers in response, sparking tiny Void-fueled explosions above his fingers.

 

“Some of you have worked together before. Some of you haven’t. Use this exercise to build a working relationship or strengthen the ones you already have,” instructed Aizawa.

 

“YOU WILL NEED EVERY ADVANTAGE YOU CAN GET!”

 

A massive form slammed down behind Aizawa, creating a huge cloud of dust. When it cleared, most of the students were in awe.

 

“WHY? SIMPLE! YOU WILL BE FACING ME...ALL MIGHT!” he declared.

 

Izuku felt his inner fanboy building up, and was never more happy that his helmet covered his face. Glancing around, he saw that he wasn’t the only one internally freaking out.

 

“Head into the City Block and find your designated starting points,” Aizawa instructed. “Once everyone is in place, All Might will be discreetly transported to a place in the city equidistant from the teams.

 

“The exercise will begin when the buzzer sounds. Winning team won’t need to do tonight’s essay on hero teams. Good luck, and remember…

 

“Plus Ultra.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be our first Hero Class! Let me know in the comments who you think will win!
> 
> Also a story idea: Ochako but she has Sigma's powers from Overwatch. Whaddya think?


	9. We're on the Hunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the wait; college started and buried me in work T_T BUT I SURVIVED. Shadowkeep distracted me a little as well, I'll admit. Anyways, reviews!
> 
> wolvesangel4347: I have a plan for Arc and Solar Light, so you might want to wait. Or, write a version set in the Destinyverse instead of the MHAverse!
> 
> Komodo23: Does this satisfy your need for gravity? :D
> 
> Mewlover: Thank you!
> 
> Prof. BlueOcean12: The tension shall be solved next chapter ;)
> 
> Rook2konig: I do that too when I see story updates!

— LotW —

 

All Might bounded through the city, relishing the feeling of the wind on his face. He was slower than normal, with weights lowering his speed to allow the students a chance to catch him. Not that he would make it easy.

 

The Symbol of Peace knew he had to keep all of his senses on alert. One of the students was completely invisible, and her teammate had the mobility to keep up if she pushed herself.

 

An explosion sounded ahead of the Pro. Time to change directions.

 

— LotW —

 

“Midoribro, you sure about this?”

 

As soon as the starting signal had sounded, Izuku had asked Kirishima to throw him into the air for reconnaissance. After catching himself with a glide and landing safely, Izuku had announced that he had a plan.

 

“Ninety-eight percent sure, Kirishima. After all, City Block F is a perfect replica of downtown Tokyo or at least a close version of it cause even with his quirk Cementoss-sensei would be hard-pressed to make a perfect copy-”

 

“Midoribro.”

 

“-but either way it’s close enough and All Might patrolled all of Tokyo first before he came to teach here it is where his agency is based-

 

“Midoribro.”

 

“-so it would make sense that he would follow his patrol path subconsciously since kinesthetic memory allows humans to move in a familiar area without thinking about where they’re going so-”

 

“IZUKU!”

 

The verdanette blinked, catching himself. “Sorry. Anyways, it’s a safe bet that he’ll come this way. We just need to wait for them to fall headfirst into the trap.”

 

— LotW —

 

All Might pulled his legs to his chest, tucking into a front flip to avoid the blasting attack from Bakugou. Landing and leaping forward again, the Pro Hero ricocheted off a building to dodge the tape trap Sero had set up. A wall of ice erupted from the ground, blocking his path, but the Symbol of Peace simply reared back and punched the wall, bulldozing through and not losing his momentum. 1-A had been quick to find him and were deploying multiple strategies to capture All Might. Some worked well together, such as Shinsou attempting to make him respond by using Aizawa’s voice while Bakugou attacked him. Others hindered several attempts, like Ochako causing a small meteor shower using debris from his and Bakugou’s attacks, but all were creative.

 

Another wall of ice rose to stop him, and All Might tore right through it as he did the previous.

 

Most of the attempts were creative.

 

— LotW —

 

Kirishima stood up as the sound of battle drew closer. “Midoribro, I hear them.”

 

“I hear them too,” Izuku responded. “Just get ready. You’ll need as much energy stored up as possible.”

 

“Right,” nodded Kirishima. He began pounding his chest as a gorilla would, and a red glow infused his chest and arms. The red-head stomped the ground as well, that same red glow shining from his legs.

 

All the while, their prey grew closer.

 

“They’re here. You ready, Kirishima?”

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this!”

 

Izuku drew back his arm, a bow and arrow made of Void Light materializing in his hands. Kirishima’s eyes widened in surprise, but said nothing and refocused on the task at hand.

 

_‘A single shot...all I need is a single shot…”_ Izuku thought to himself.

 

Inhale.

 

Exhale.

 

“Shadowshot: **Deadfall!** ” 

 

Release.

 

The bow disappeared, and the arrow flew straight and true. Skimming past All Might, who jerked in response but continued forwards, the Shadowshot landed on the ground and lay flat, nothing more than part of a shadow cast by a building...until Bakugou blasted over it with all of 1-A hot on his heels. Void tethers lashed out, snagging the entire class and suppressing their quirks, causing them to cry out as they fell to the ground. Ojiro found his tail to be limp and unresponsive, while Tsuyu found she couldn’t move or jump higher or faster than anyone.

 

The gravity hit them next, forcing the class to fight to stay standing, slowing them down drastically.

 

Finally, their strength was sapped, their defenses broken. 1-A had become weakened, vulnerable.

 

Prey, ripe for the picking.

 

At the same time Izuku fired the Shadowshot, Kirishima had leaped off the building, kinetic energy crackling around him as his powered jump carried him directly into All Might’s path. He crashed into the pro, diverting him off course and landing the first blow of the exercise. They landed out of sight, leaving Izuku to deal with the trapped 1-A.

 

The verdanette jumped down, using bursts of light-powered boosts to slow his descent. Crimson eyes zeroed in on him, and their owner snarled in anger.

 

“Deekkuuu!”

 

“Hello to you as well, Bakugou. Feeling a little down?”

 

Bakugou snarled again, raising his arms to try and blast Izuku. The Lightbearer didn’t move, and no blast came forth, the void tethers still suppressing quirks.

 

“How the fuck aren’t you affected, you bathrobe-wearing nerd?!” screamed Bakugou. Beneath his helmet, Izuku smirked, though kept an eye on his other classmates, even as he answered Bakugou. 

 

“It’s my Light, Bakugou,” he responded. “I shape it to my will, and it will never hurt me.”

 

“Midoriya. I can feel the tether weakening,” interjected Todoroki. “It won’t last much longer, and you won’t be able to stall for Kirishima much longer.”

 

Izuku laughed. “You’re half-right,” he agreed. “The Deadfall variant is meant to last longer than a regular Shadowshot, but it’s still a work in progress. It’ll probably last another minute or two, and then you’ll all be free. I do think I can stall for longer than you believe I can.”

 

Mouth hidden by his mask, Shoji frowned. “Kirishima is not as strong as All Might, Midoriya. You are relying on him to beat the number one Pro Hero in a fight, which no one has done since he started his career.”

 

“Who said Kirishima was going to fight All Might?” Izuku chuckled. “Aizawa-sensei only said we had to catch the Fox, not fight it to a standstill.” In the distance, a building crumbled. “Ah, it seems as though Kirishima caught up to All Might. Now he just has to get the capture tape around All Might, and we’ll win.”

 

“You attacked fellow heroes!” exclaimed Iida. “Aizawa-sensei will disqualify you, and all of this will have been for nothing.”

 

“And when did Aizawa-sensei say we couldn’t attack each other?” Before Iida could respond, the Void tethers dissipated, freeing the students. True to form, Bakugou blasted forwards, aiming to take Izuku down.

 

His efforts were in vain, for Izuku summoned a shield, crafted from Void Light and the ultimate defense. A small barrier erupted from the shield, protecting Izuku from the blast. Izuku bashed Bakugou with the shield in response, staggering the blonde and pushing him back. Iida sprinted, accelerating as fast as he could, only to stop dead in his tracks as Izuku’s shield flew past him, ricocheting off the wall and flying towards the other students.

 

Bakugou took the chance and rushed Izuku again, only to be stopped by the same barrier that came from _the shield still on Izuku’s arm._ The blonde heard his classmates dodging something behind him and put two and two together.

 

“You can make two shields,” he stated accusingly.

 

Izuku shrugged his shoulders. “The thrown shield vanishes after a bit, but yes. Hey, did you know there was an old American Pro that used a shield as his main weapon?”

 

The verdanette lunged forwards, swinging the edge of the shield at Bakugou’s head. The blonde jerked back, narrowly dodging the lunge. Izuku brought the shield back up in a backhand, catching Ojiro on the chin and flinging him back when he tried to attack. The shield was shoved forwards in bash and exploded in a burst of energy.

 

The energy wave disoriented some of Izuku’s nearby classmates, sending them stumbling backward. Tsuyu was the exception, using her frog-like physiology to stay standing upright by spreading her stance. The green girl launched towards Izuku, and the verdanette brought his shield up in response, forming the same barrier as before. Just what Tsuyu wanted.

 

Asui propelled herself off of the shield, leaping up and over Izuku as far as she could push herself. Within mere seconds she was out of range for Izuku to engage her while still keeping the others busy.

 

Izuku felt rather than see Hagakure slip by him, but he was fending off Bakugou and was unable to react. More slipped by, Iida sprinting past at an opportune moment, followed by Todoroki and Sero. The verdanette didn’t mind. He trusted Kirishima.

 

— LotW —

 

Kirishima had no clue what he was doing.

 

_WhydidIlistentoIzukucrazyassidiotgavehimselftheeasyjoboHSHITFIST-_

 

Hardening his body, Kirishima took All Might’s punch head-on. Red energy flared from the impact, but while the number one Pro Hero was holding back, the force behind the punch was enough to send Kirishima flying. The young adult slammed into a building and instinctively released the energy as soon as he collided with the structure. The resulting explosion tore through the building’s support, causing the building to crumble and fall.

 

“Come now, young Kirishima. You’ll have to try harder than that to catch me!” All Might declared. The Pro leaped away, leaving Kirishima to pull himself out of the rubble. Kinetic Spark had done its job of converting the energy from the falling rubble into power for Kirishima to use, but the red-head was still dazed from the collision. He shook it off and followed after All Might.

 

— LotW —

 

**_“_ ** **_TIME._ ** **_”_ **

 

In the end, none of the heroes-to-be managed to catch All Might. Even with the weights hindering his mobility and strength, the number one Pro Hero lived up to his ranking, dodging the class’s traps and fighting off their ambushes.

 

After around twenty minutes of running around, Aizawa had called time and instructed his class to meet back in the classroom once they had changed back to their uniforms. Eraserhead waited patiently until 1-A were all seated.

 

“So, you all failed to catch All Might. I hope you learned something while running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” The sentence was a question, and almost everyone had a contribution. However, it was Todoroki’s sentence that caught Aizawa’s attention.

 

“Learning how to fight quirkless would give us an advantage in such a situation,” said the heterochromatic hero.

 

“Todoroki, explain.”

 

“Midoriya was able to suppress our quirks using his quirk, Aizawa-sensei. Quirks tend to vary so that there’s usually not many that are the same, but if there are villains with quirks that can suppress others’ quirks similar to Midoriya or you, Aizawa-sensei, then it would be good for us to learn how to fight without our quirks.”

 

Aizawa hummed in agreement, glancing at Midoriya briefly. He would have to talk to him later. “Very good, Todoroki. Most of you likely haven’t considered this, but when I erase someone’s quirk, all I’m doing is evening the battlefield. I essentially fight quirkless, as would Hagakure, Mashirao, and Shinsou. Because of this, part of your training is learning how to fight quirkless, regardless of how confident you are in your quirk.

 

“That aside, the main lesson of the exercise was teamwork. By giving you a prize and splitting you into pairs, your teamwork as a class was split, fighting each other as much as you chased All Might, or denying everyone the chance to attack and leaving it to one person.

 

“Never turn down help. The hero that always flies solo is the hero that falls prey to a group of villains that’s more than the hero can handle.” He let his gaze rake across the room, making sure his students got the message. Out of all of them, only Bakugou and Todoroki seemed to bristle at the suggestion. Aizawa inwardly sighed.

 

“Tokoyami, Kaminari, Ashido, Kirishima, Bakugou, Todoroki, Midoriya. You will stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed for the day. Don’t just laze about either; I know that the other professors assigned you work outside of class.” 1-A left the classroom, leaving Aizawa and the named students behind.

 

“Aizawa-sensei, why are you having us stay?” asked Kaminari.

 

“The seven of you are staying behind for an assessment on control. Your quirks are the most destructive out of the entire class, and so must be trained to the point where civilian injury or death due to lack of control never happens,” was the blunt answer. Aizawa didn’t enjoy the looks of fear or disbelief on his students’ faces, but it was best to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

 

“Get your gym uniforms on and meet inside Gamma Gym. Once you can prove you have fine-tuned precision control over your quirks, you won’t have to attend lessons on control anymore. Five minutes.”

 

The seven scrambled.

 

— LotW —

 

Pony was doing herself a concern.

 

She knew she had a crush on Izuku. She knew why she had a crush on Izuku, and she knew that it wasn’t just his chiseled body that made her feel funny inside. She also knew that if she didn’t act soon, Izuku might be snatched up by another girl, and Pony would have lost her chance forever.

 

The problem was that she was scared. Pony was scared of Izuku’s rejection, scared that he wouldn’t return her feelings. What would she do then? Would they still be friends? Would he even look at her after that? The possibilities of him saying no terrified her, but the possibility of him saying yes...it just about outweighed her fear.

 

“Tsunotori? Is everything alright?”

 

Pony turned to see Midnight, who was looking at the student with a worried look on her face. “Ah, Kayama-sensei! E-everything is the alrights! P-pony is - I am not the worried about anything.”

 

“Tsunotori, your Japanese is slipping. That only happens when you’re nervous or upset. Now, what’s wrong? Is it,” Midnight licked her lips and smirked wickedly. “Boy troubles?”

 

“...maybe?”

 

Midnight’s smirk grew wider. “Reeaaally now? Which boy is it? Kirishima? Todoroki? Ooooh, or is it Midoriya?” Pony’s squeak and red face at the mention of Izuku’s name was all the answer Midnight needed. “Okay, so it’s Midoriya. What is it about him that you like?”

 

“He...he is very kind. Midori is always ready to help, no matter who is the asking for help,” Pony admitted. “I am also the liking his smile, especially when he is smiling at me.”

 

“Nothing else, Tsunotori?”

 

“...P-Pony is...I-I am liking...M-Midori is the hots…”

 

Midnight laughed, and Pony’s blush grew deeper. “Oh, you poor girl. You’ve got it bad, don’t you? Let me guess, you haven’t confessed because you either don’t know if he likes you back or you’re scared of his rejection, right?”

 

“R-right.”

 

“Then let me give you some advice, from one girl to another.” Midnight dropped her seductress act, giving Pony a soft smile. “Confess to Midoriya as soon as you can. It’s better to live with the knowledge that you tried rather than living with the regret and bottled up feelings from never saying a word.”

 

Pony contemplated Midnight’s words, seriously giving them some thought. Midnight stayed silent for a bit, letting Pony mull over what she had said, but she couldn’t resist her next words for long.

 

“Then when you’ve got him in your grasp, make him ride you like the animal you’re named after!”

 

“K-K-Kayama-sensei!!”

 

— LotW —

 

_Let me tell you a story._

 

_A demon, in preparation for the end days of the Earth, created seven simulations of Earth. The simulations perfectly mirrored the current events happening on Earth, but there was a flaw. Strong thinkers, powerful minds, they found out they were in a simulation. They found out they weren’t real, and they killed themselves, unable to bear that knowledge._

 

_The story varies here. Some say they left behind clues for others to discover for themselves. Others say they destroyed all records of their findings, to spare the rest of humanity trapped in the simulations._

 

_Are we in the simulation? I do not know._

 

_Here is what I do know.  YOU are real. However, the people and places around you, don’t they seem a little...fake? Paper-thin, cardboard cutouts? Say this out loud: “I am more real than this.” How did that feel? Now say this aloud: “I am more real than the people around me.”_

 

_Doesn’t everything hurt a little bit less, their insults, your injuries, your wounds?_

 

_See, you have influence here, and you didn’t even know it!_

 

_Why don’t you try spreading some of that influence around, o reader mine?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea when the next chapter will be out lol


	10. And The Storm Beckoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I am so sorry for the delay. TwT Writer's block made me its bitch for the past couple of months, but I beat it and chapter ten is FINALLY here! Please enjoy the newest chapter of Light of the World!

Aizawa did not want to be training young adults on fine control. He wanted to be in his sleeping bag, slurping down coffee or juice packs while he either read through crime reports in Japan or read through the mystery novel he had picked up while Chieko slept on his lap. Unfortunately for the underground hero life is cruel and reality is crueler so he was stuck with seven of the students of 1-A. Fortunately, most of the students were easy to train on fine control, so he wouldn’t need to hold this extra class for very long. Maybe.

 

Tokoyami was the easiest at first. Dragging Dark Shadow out in the middle of a bunch of spotlights and figuring out why it attacked Midoriya was...well, not simplicity itself. Turned out Tokoyami had a connection to the Void through Dark Shadow, who called the Void its home until a young Tokoyami had shackled Dark Shadow to him. Despite the events, Dark Shadow served Tokoyami, following the law of ruling strength. Until Tokoyami showed he was weaker than Dark Shadow, the sentient quirk would (mostly) do as the young adult commanded. When questioned about Midoriya, Dark Shadow had explained that ever since 1-A had met, the sentient quirk had sensed Void energy coming from one of the other students, but had been unable to pin it down until recently due to Tokoyami keeping him busy.

 

It wasn’t until Midoriya had (unwittingly) used his Void Light in the locker room that Dark Shadow knew where the Void energy was coming from. But thanks to Koji’s petting, Dark Shadow was groggy when he lashed out, mistaking Midoriya for another one of Dark Shadow’s species. Knowing that one of its own would immediately be aggressive, Dark Shadow had taken the initiative. Aizawa knew the rest.

 

He thought that would be the end of it. He really did. How foolish of him to assume after Dark Shadow apologizing to Midoriya that the problem child _wouldn’t_ be friendly and _wouldn’t_ experiment on how Dark Shadow would react when exposed to Void Light, the purest form of Void energy (or so claimed by Dark Shadow.)

 

A Void Light-supercharged Dark Shadow was not fun to deal with and in the end Tokoyami voluntarily decided he needed to stay and work on his control over Dark Shadow. At least he was thinking rationally.

 

Ashido, Bakugou, Kaminari and Midoriya all had the same problem: friendly fire. Potency wasn’t a problem for Ashido and Bakugou; Ashido could dilute her acid to the point where it was really only glue and Bakugou could make an explosion without any force whatsoever, mimicking a flashbang. Ashido also appeared to have a (not irrational) fear of fatally injuring anyone she fought with her acid. The young woman admitted to relying on her potential foes’ natural instinct to avoid harmful objects when using her acid. Not a bad solution, but inapplicable against villains impervious to acid.

 

Bakugou was more of a problem. The ashen blonde didn’t care about friendly fire, and when confronted about it retorted that anyone who got in his way and couldn’t take a hit from him was weak and shouldn’t be a hero. Aizawa sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

“And what, pray tell,” Aizawa drawled. “What will you do when a civilian gets hit by one of your explosions? A child, an elderly person, a pregnant mother? If you’re in a battle against a villain and unleash explosions like you’re doing now, and you seriously hurt anyone aside from the villain, you will be held accountable, not just for the civilians’ injuries, but for collateral property damage as well. You will have to pay for all of that, and a starting hero does not have the finances required for it.”

 

“It’s not my fault if they’re weak!”

 

Aizawa took a deep breath, exhaling through his nostrils. “I see that my words are going in one ear and out the other,” he slowly said, each word deliberate. “Allow me to put it in a way you’ll understand: If you do not meet the requirements to leave this extra course before the sports festival, then I will have no choice but to transfer you to the General Education branch of U.A.” He left a spluttering Bakugou behind, ignoring the blonde’s curses and threats.

 

Midoriya’s problem was differentiating between friend and foe. As long as Midoriya’s target was friendly (or non-living and non-aggressive) his problem child’s Void Light wouldn’t hurt them. Thus, Midoriya would have to be thrown into stressful situations that would make it difficult to differentiate between friend and foe.

 

Todoroki’s control over his ice was astounding. What was illogical and baffling was his absolute refusal to use his fire. After hearing the scarred student’s declaration, Aizawa took a step back and really looked at him.

 

“...Todoroki. Meet me at my office after we’re done today.”

 

“Yes, Aizawa-sensei.”

 

Aizawa wanted to punch Endeavor.

 

Kirishima would be one of the biggest challenges. Storing kinetic energy and releasing it all in one blast would have to be refined, the capacity increased. Kirishima would have to learn how to let out partial bursts of energy, how to not release the energy when struck by an enemy. Simple on paper, difficult in execution.

 

Kaminari’s control would have to become an application of physics. His lightning followed the shortest path out of his body, which unfortunately for Kaminari was his brain. The problem child had butted in, saying he had a technique for Kaminari to try. Aizawa was hesitant after the incident with Dark Shadow, but ultimately decided to give Midoriya a chance.

 

Time to set the students to work.

 

* * *

 

“You sure you can help me, Midoriya?” asked Kaminari.

 

“I’m sure. Humans already had a bioelectric signature, but your quirk allows you to overload your bioelectric signature to create lightning. Basically, you are a conduit. You are power unleashed,” Midoriya replied. “Lightning is in all life. I’m going to help you harness it.”

 

Kaminari shrugged. “I’ve got nothing to lose right now. Teach me your ways, oh wise one.”

 

The two stood together, away from the others going through Aizawa’s rigorous training.

 

“Focus,” Midoriya commanded. “Feel your lightning take hold. Let it flow through you, but don’t let it consume you.” Kaminari closed his eyes and did as instructed. Reaching for his lightning was second nature, and he knew the feeling of it right before he unleashed the lightning. He grunted as lightning flowed through his body, attempting to spark and lash out at everything around him.

 

“Do you have it?”

 

“I-I think so.”

 

“Good. Take a deep breath. Exhale. In and out, a single spark. Now, inhale, and hold it!”

 

The lightning within surged, but to his own surprise Kaminari’s breath didn’t waver.

 

“Now, all at once, exhale!” ordered Izuku. At the release of breath, Kaminari felt lightning skitter across his skin, and he had to fight to not jerk in surprise.

 

“A peal of thunder, electric potential. A charge in the air. Do you feel it?” Midoriya asked. Kaminari nodded, eyes still closed.

 

“Good. Breathe in deep, and the ozone will burn your lungs. Hold your breath!” Midoriya exclaimed at the sight of Kaminari nearly exhaling in pain. “Hold it. With your next exhale comes the lightning. Hold it.”

 

Electricity jumped from his fingers.

 

“Hold it.”

 

Lightning struck between his lungs.

 

“Now!”

 

Kaminari’s body erupted with lightning, dancing over his body and sparking between his hands. The sheer power kept him floating above the ground, and Kaminari couldn’t help but look himself over. Turning to some nearby training dummies, Kaminari thrust his hands forward, letting the lightning flow free-

 

-and promptly fell flat on his face as the electricity cut out. Nothing hurt, which meant only his pride was wounded if the snickering in the background was anything to go by. At least his brain wasn’t fried.

 

“Harmony within, hurricane without. Remember, Kaminari, you think you’re the storm, but you’re not. The storm is so much bigger than you are, and it’s more than you can control,” Midoriya stated.

 

“If I can’t control it, then what do I do?” asked Kaminari, understandably frustrated.

 

“You might be the one throwing the lightning, but the storm is the one hurling you. You don’t bring the storm, you’re swept up by it,” Izuku explained. “What you just did, it’s a dance. Follow the storm’s lead.”

 

* * *

 

Todoroki sat in Aizawa’s office, waiting for the man to return. Aizawa had stated that there was something necessary for their talk and had gone off to grab it. Todoroki didn’t care. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing that Aiazawa could say to make him use his fire.

 

The door opened behind him, and Todoroki flinched before quickly composing himself. Aizawa pretended not to notice, and placed the papers in his hands on his desk, just out of Todoroki’s sight. He sat, steepled his fingers, and gazed at Todoroki.

 

“You need to use your fire.”

 

“I will not.”

 

“Why?”

 

“To prove my father wrong.”

 

“Bullshit.” The expletive caught Todoroki off guard, and Aizawa sighed. “I attended this university with your father, Todoroki. I know what kind of person he is. Let’s try this again; why don’t you use your fire?”

 

Todoroki was silent and unresponsive.

 

“Hmn. How about this, when did Endeavor start your quirk training?” Aizawa asked.

 

“...when my quirk manifested.”

 

There was a sharp inhale from Aizawa, and Todoroki felt the now-familiar pressure from the mental block of Aizawa’s quirk. He quickly reined in his quirk, taking a calming breath and opening a drawer in his desk. Aizawa pulled out a glass and a bottle of alcohol, poured himself a drink, and threw it back, swallowing the drink all in one go.

 

“Sensei?”

 

“If I’m drunk I won’t do something stupid. How did Endeavor train you? No, don’t answer that. If your scar is any indicator I think I know already,” muttered Aizawa, another drink already raised to his mouth. Todoroki’s shoulders tensed, but he said nothing. “Does your mother know anything? Did she try to stop Endeavor?”

 

“...Yes.”

 

“Yes to what, Todoroki? Both?”

 

“Both.”

 

“I see,” said Aizawa. “And why hasn’t she gone to the police?”

 

“My father put her in a mental hospital ward after he drove her insane.”

 

There was a pause, a brief moment of calm, before it was broken by Aizawa hurling his glass against the wall as hard as he could. The professor instantly regretted his decision when Todoroki flinched away from the shattering glass, but it was too late to take back his action now.

 

“Todoroki. Here is what you are going to do. You are going to go find Midnight, Present Mic, and President Nezu. You are going to tell them to come to my office so that you can tell them EXACTLY what your father has done to you for your entire life, and you are going to get them here by any means possible, even if you are interrupting a class,” Aizawa instructed.

 

“Sensei-”

 

“ _Shouto.”_ Shocked into silence by the sudden formality, Todoroki blinked in surprise at his professor. “I do not trust myself to not take action if I leave this room. Tell them that if they need a reason.” Aizawa watched as his student hesitated only for a moment, then nodded, moving quickly out of the room to do as he was told.

 

Three hours later, Nezu was furiously digging up any and all information he could find regarding crimes committed by Endeavor, Midnight had knocked out Aizawa with a combination of her quirk and the rest of Aizawa’s bottle, and Present Mic helped Todoroki where needed as the abused young man filled out a parental restriction form and an individuality privacy form.

 

Todoroki was free.

 

* * *

 

Class 1-A stared as Nezu pounded away at his laptop, quietly cackling to himself. The president had managed to find quite the dirt on Endeavor, and had reached out to his personal lawyer with the information. The prosecutor had a field day with the information, promising results within a week.

 

_‘Now then, to the task at hand,’_ the rodent thought to himself as the bell rang for the class to begin.

 

“Greeting, students!” Nezu exclaimed. “You’re probably wondering why I am here, instead of Aizawa, no?”

 

A few nods came from around the room.

 

“He has a hangover! Because of this, we are delaying the field trip planned for today until tomorrow.”

 

Unperturbed by Nezu’s bluntness regarding Aizawa’s condition, Iida raised a hand in question. “President Nezu, what will we be doing today instead? Do you have a lesson planned for us?”

 

“I do not!” The entire class sweatdropped in response. “Today, you are all going to be training your quirks! I am giving you free rein to train your quirks as you see fit, so long as you stay inside Gamma Gym. Before I let you go, however, allow me to tell you about the field trip!

 

“You see, not _every_ hero is geared towards combat. Some heroes are classified as Rescue Heroes, such as Backdraft or Thirteen! Pro Heroes like them use their quirks to help civilians evacuate from disasters and villain attacks. In fact, I’ll bet a few of you were looking at becoming Rescue Heroes, no?

 

“Anyways, every hero student is taught how to deal with rescue scenarios, and here at U.A., that means a trip to the USJ!”

 

Confused muttering arose from the students, and Momo eventually spoke up. “President Nezu, you don’t mean Universal Studios Japan, right?”

 

“Correct!” Nezu said to a disappointed Mina and Kaminari. “The Unforeseen Simulation Joint is a facility that simulates just about any kind of rescue scenario you could imagine. So get ready, students, and train hard. Dismissed!”

 

* * *

 

As 1-A made its way to the changing rooms for Gamma Gym, Izuku was stopped by Todoroki.

 

“Midoriya, I...I have a favor to ask,” Todoroki stated. Izuku blinked, then nodded and gestured for Todoroki to continue. “Yesterday, when we were in the extra class for control, I saw you help Kaminari with his lightning. Whatever you did for his lightning, I want you to do for my fire.”

 

“You’re okay using it now?” Izuku inquired. “I thought you told Aizawa-sensei you’d never use your fire.”

 

“Aizawa-sensei helped me realize that my fire belongs to _me_. I want to use it now, but I don’t want to use it like my father.”

 

Izuku didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll gladly help you, Todoroki. I never liked Endeavor in the first place anyways.”

 

* * *

 

_Thefiresingsasongwhiletheemptinessswallowsallsoundbutthelightningisabridgebetweenbothquietandnoiseletthecalmthenoiseandthequietcometogetherasoneandremaketheworldintheirimageletthecalmthequietandthenoisefreethosethatwishandthosethathumorthewisherletthecalmthequietandthenoise_

 

_BURN_

 

_BURN_

 

**_BURN_ **

 

_awaytheshacklesthatbindandleadguidebeckonthewishgrantertothemsothatthewishgrantermaybefreeletthewishgrantercomeletthewishgrantercomelethimcomesothatallwillknowthe_ _name_

 

A̴̷͢͠҉Z҉̶̸̢̕A̕͡R̸̸I̡̨M̧̨̧

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews from chapter 9!
> 
> Sister_Says_Go: Thank you so much! hopefully this latest chapter was up to snuff.
> 
> BlueOcean12: I have returned from the V́͂̆̑͒̾̒ͧ̎҉̺̭͔͇̤̠̰O͕̱͗͋̒͆ͦ̈̎͠I̵̟̲̮̗̼̳̜͌̑ͥ͡D̨͇͎̪̳̰̞̍ͩ̏ͩ̚͜ͅ. I know, but I prefer doing it this way.
> 
> JohnC.G: Midnight uses her seductiveness as part of her Hero persona to throw off villains. Mineta is just a pervert looking for an easy lay.
> 
> Syber_Slash: Thank you! Don't worry, I'll finish this story before I die :'D
> 
> wolvesangels4347: ;)
> 
> Virtual cookies for whoever tells me who Chieko is.
> 
> Credit to A Study in Firsts by Oceanbreeze7 for inspiring the scene with Todoroki and Aizawa.
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. It's the USJ chapter after all :)


End file.
